The World Is Watching (Male SYOC)
by Abizeau
Summary: Princess Elisabeth made a deal with her father: do as he says if she can finish a normal Education. Now, at 24 years old, after three Master's Degrees, she must do her royal duty: hold a Selection and solidify Illéa's Alliances with the 32 other Kingdoms. Will she succeed without starting WW4?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was mid-April, and Eliza knew her time was almost over. Once her finals were done and completed, it was finished for her. Eliza knew her freedom was soon ending, and that she would have to go back to Angeles. Go back to her "house", also known as the Illéan Angeles Palace. She would have to obey. She would have to behave. She would have to be-

The timer rang and Eliza sighed. She focused on what she was doing, and tasted a lonely spaghetti, decided it was _al dente_ enough and turned off the electric hotplate. She drained the pasta in the sink and put two plates on the table with some clean cutlery she found lying around the small kitchen. She really needed to get to dish washing tonight.

"Linus," she called out. "Dinner's ready." She put the pan on the table alongside some salad.

Linus came over, chuckling. "Plain pasta, again?" he asked, sitting down.

"Yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "I forgot to go grocery shopping today and you finished the tomato sauce last time. I have some finals to study, for, remember?"

He filled their glasses with water. "You know you can hire someone to do that for you, right?"

"No, I don't want to do that, and you know that." She huffed. "Besides, I already have you, and you're a pain in the ass. I have to cook for two."

Linus chuckled and shoved some spaghetti in his mouth. "I know. But you would die of boredom without me."

"Probably," Eliza conceded. "But you were part of the deal," she said. "I couldn't continue on to college if I didn't have a personal security detail."

"I know that. And I've been paid pretty well for pretending to be your cousin studying with you."

Eliza snorted. "Yeah, well. At least you learned some stuff, right?"

Linus shrugged. "Not really. If I could choose a Major, I'd go with history, or engineering. Definitely not Political Science." He forked some food in his mouth. "Or foreign languages."

Eliza was silent a moment, chewing and swallowing before talking. "At least my degrees will be useful in the future," she said, and a shadow passed over her lovely green eyes. Her shoulders slumped a little bit. Both Linus and Eliza ate in silence after that. He knew how she dreaded going back to her life. A life she didn't want.

When both had eaten their fill, Eliza stood and gathered the plates and put everything in the sink. There was at least three days of dishes to do. She braced herself and turned the faucet on. Linus came from behind and forced himself not to place a light kiss on her shoulder.

"Leave that to me, Liz," he said softly, taking the sponge from her hand. "You have finals to prepare, remember?" He smiled and tried locking eyes with her, but she refused to look at him.

"Thanks," she mumbled, gladly letting go of the wet sponge. She dried her hands and walked to her room. She stripped down her day clothes and put on some comfortable sweatpants, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and some fluffy socks. Though it was spring in Waverly, she liked to be warm to work. She lay down sprawled on her bed, staring at the simple white ceiling above her. _Only seven weeks left_ , she thought bitterly. _That's fifty days left_. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She got up, took her textbooks and headed back to the kitchen and dropped her books on the table. She sat and bent over, French literature filling her eyes and mind.

Linus was almost done with the dishes, and he kept an eyes on the red-hair woman next to him. How he loved the curve of her neck, the color of her hair, the sound of her laugh, and above all the color of her eyes, which were a bottle green rimmed with a much darker shade of green, almost brown. He could look at her for hours and never tire. Linus had been in her service for almost five years. Five years of college – for her to have her Master's Degree – where he had pretended to be her cousin, studying with her. And that forbade him to show any sign of affection for her. Because everyone thought he was her cousin. It was her idea in the first place: she didn't want people to know that she had a body guard with her at all times. Linus dried his hands and went to sit on the couch, keeping Eliza in his field of vision.

Two hours later, Eliza was yawning, the lines of her textbook mixing up together, and the sentences not meaning anything anymore. She closed the book with a loud THUMP, which made Linus jump, which made her giggle.

"Are you laughing at my expense?" Linus asked, feigning outrage.

"Of course, not," Eliza said, keeping a laugh inside. "Sorry," she said, rolling her eyes and grinning. "I'm going to bed."

Linus followed her with his gaze. "'night."

"Good night," she said, yawning again.

She put on her pajama and turned the light off. But sleep was eluding her. She kept thinking about her homecoming, and what her father had in store for her. She knew that he was probably planning for her to have a Selection or something. Because it was tradition, and now that she was going to be under his roof again, she promised she would do as he asked. She had had roughly twelve years of freedom where she could study wherever and whatever she liked and do stuff normal girls did: partying, shopping, gossiping, studying.

She thought about Millie – Perfect Princess Emilia Margaret Jane Schreave – who dreamed of being born first. If only they could magically switch places, everything would be much better. But fate decided differently, and soon she'll have to prepare to be the next Queen of Illéa, and she'll have to choose her Prince Consort in a traditional Selection. _Ugh_. Eliza sighed. _How stupid and old-fashion that tradition was_.

Four weeks later, her finals came flooding on her. Linus helped her review everything, and she was really stressed about it. But not only because of the finals, which she would probably pass without much difficulty, but because the days until she had to go back to Angeles were dwindling down. Dangerously.

So between her exams and studying for them, she went clubbing with her friends, Linus tagging along unwillingly. He knew those were the worst evenings for him: no drinking, no having fun, just making sure Eliza didn't screw up or did something stupid to end up passed out on the first page of the next day's newspaper.

Although Eliza wanted to forget everything about Angeles, it kept coming back at her.

"So, what are you going to do after this?" one of her friends, Alice, asked, after a few drinks.

Eliza froze a second before laughing. "Take a guess, silly," she said. "I'm a Princess, remember?" she giggled.

Linus rolled his eyes. Eliza never admitted what she was of her free will. She was really drunk. "She's going back home," Linus told Alice. "And she's going to get to work. And now," he said gently steering her away from the table, "she's going to bed. Come on, Liz," he said.

"Oh, come on," Eliza said. "Just a little longer."

"No," he said. And he meant it. He dragged her out of the pub and back to their apartment. Eliza didn't walk straight, and Linus had to practically carry her half of the way. Once they were inside, he quickly put her on her bed, took her shoes off, and tucked her under her covers. She mumbled a few words Linus didn't catch, but she was quickly asleep. He sat on the floor against her door a moment, making she was really sleeping. He ended up staying there for almost an hour, watching the covers go up and down as she breathed peacefully. Then he realized he was being a creep and quickly got out of the room.

More exams followed after that, and then it was over. By mid-June, she was packing her things, emptying her apartment she had had for five years, and engraving the place in her mind. This was by far her best years, after all. It took her a full fifteen minutes to finally get out of her apartment, and into the cab Linus had called for them. She sat in silence, her cheek against the window, watching as the buildings and familiar neighborhood passed quickly by. She didn't even realize when a tear streamed down her cheek only when Linus silently gave her a tissue.

"Thanks," she said softly, drying her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being so emotional."

"It's totally normal," he said. "You've lived here for five years."

She smiled sadly. "Yeah." _And I'll never have that again_ , she thought.

The drive to the airport took only twenty minutes and it took them all the way on to the tarmac. She got out of the car and headed directly to the private jet her father had sent for her and Linus. Linus followed behind with some of their luggage. The rest came in carried by one of the RoyalAirlines Stewards.

She sat in a plush chair and looked out the window. She didn't even hear the Pilot welcoming her on board and asking her to buckle up. She watched as New York became smaller and smaller until only clouds filled her window. She loudly shut down the window blind and took out her book. She read the same paragraph three times before realizing she was reading the same thing over again. She unbuckled her seat belt and went to the front of the plane. She almost bumped into the Stewardess.

"Yes, Your Highness?" she said, surprised to find her there.

Eliza cringed at the title she hadn't heard in practically a whole year. Last time was the previous summer when she went home for the holidays.

"I was just looking for something to drink or eat," she said.

The lady smiled and walked Eliza back to her seat. "There is a button here to call me, Ma'am," she said with a tight smile. "You don't have to get up. I'll get you something."

Eliza sighed. Of course. She had everyone at her beck and call, now. How could she forget that? She sat back down and waited for the lady to come back with a snack and a drink. The flight in the private Royal jet only lasted a couple hours, which she passed by nibbling on peanuts and sipping Whiskey.

Linus kept an eye on Eliza from his seat a few rows in front of her, turned towards her. He knew she wanted to be alone, but he was physically hurting to see her in his state. Clearly, she didn't want to go home and back to her royal life. Once or twice during the past year they had talked about what would happen when she went back to Angeles. She was pretty sure there as going to be a Selection, and if the age range went high enough, he would apply. At least get a chance to finally date her, even if he had to share her with thirty-four other men. Only that would never pass, but he didn't know that, yet. And neither did she.

King Oliver and Queen Elinor Schreave were waiting on the front steps of the Illéan Angeles Palace as the Limo bringing their eldest daughter back made its way in the gravel driveway. The car stopped just in front of the steps, and Linus, Princess Elisabeth's Security Detail came out first, quickly running around the car to open the door for Her Royal Highness. Queen Elinor was beaming, so happy she was to see her daughter again. How she had missed her!

When Eliza came out of the car, her outfit was not what her mother thought it would be. The Crown Princess of Illéa was wearing a pair of torn jeans, some overused Converse shoes, and a loose t-shirt on her elegant silhouette. Her red hair was a mess in a bun on the top of her head. But Elinor kept her smile and embraced her daughter as she came level with them on the top steps.

"Oh, Elisabeth," Elinor said. "I'm so glad to see you." She looked her daughter up and down. "You look a bit different, though," she added.

Eliza shrugged. "Exams and travel clothes, I guess."

"Elisabeth," her father said, taking her in a brief hug. "It's good to have you back home with us."

Eliza smiled to her father and looked around. "Where's Millie?"

"Emilia is over in Panama overseeing the opening of a new school for Eights and Sevens," Elinor said. "She's really good at this, you know?" she added excitedly. "Every time she can do something for Illéa, she gladly does it."

 _Of course, she does_ , Eliza thought. _She was born for this. Not me_. "Great," she said instead.

"Why don't you get settled in, cleaned up, and then we can talk over dinner tonight?" Elinor continued. "Your father and I have something really important to tell you."

Eliza forced a smile out and nodded. "I'll see you at dinner, then." She motioned for the footmen to bring in her luggage and she climbed up the stairs to her room. She was glad she wasn't wearing heels. Her worn sneakers didn't resonate on the black and white tiled floors. She pushed the door to her room, and sighed heavily. It was as big – maybe even bigger – than her apartment back in New York. She noticed the room had been freshly aired, a bouquet of freshly cut flowers adorned her desk, and the sheets were crisp and cold, just like she liked them. She ran a hand on the velvet cushions on her bed and smiled. It was kind of good to be back home, in a way.

A light knock sounded on her door.

"Come in?" Eliza said cautiously.

The door opened and a senior woman with snow-white hair and wearing a regal dark blue dress with see-through flowing sleeves came in.

"Grand-mother," Eliza said, dipping in a curtsy before running to hug the older woman.

"Oh, Elisabeth," Queen Mother Andromeda said, holding Eliza's face in her beautiful wrinkled hands. "It is so good to have you back," she said. "I could not wait until dinner to see you again."

"I missed you, too," Eliza said, taking her grand-mother's hand in hers. They sat down on the settee.

"Congratulation on your Master's Degree," Andromeda said. "I am sure it will be of great use for you in the coming weeks and months."

"Yeah," Eliza said, repressing a sigh. "I'm sure dad is going to use my skills to the last breath I have." She chuckled and Andromeda chuckled lightly with her.

"Well," the Queen Mother said. "I will let you settle in, clean up, and get used to your new life. I will see you at dinner." She placed a soft kiss on her grand-daughter's forehead and left the room.

Once she was gone, Eliza went to work on getting cleaned up and ready for dinner. A couple hours later, after washing her hair and having a maid blow-drying them, putting them in an updo and putting on a simple long high-low black skirt with a white sleeveless top, she went down to dinner, dreading what her father had to say.

No one spoke until the first course dishes arrived, and then her father cleared his throat. Eliza braced herself. She knew what was coming, but was hoping it wasn't that.

"So," King Oliver said. "Now that you're back home, there is a lot of catching up to do, Elisabeth," he started. "I'm glad you now have your three degrees, because they are going to be _very_ useful in the next months." He paused. "As you may have guessed, you are going to hold a Selection. But," he said before anyone could add anything, "it's not going to be a traditional one."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean _not traditional_?"

"Elisabeth, do you know why Illéan Royals held Selections with eligible young people Selected from our own Provinces?"

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Because it gives the people something and someone to root for. And to unify the country."

"Correct," King Oliver said. "And does the county need unifying or being distracted?"

"Yes?" Eliza said, not so sure. "I mean, no? I don't know…" she admitted.

"No," Oliver continued. "Thanks to the excellent work of your grand-mother during her reign, and you mother and sister, now, the country couldn't be in better terms."

"Then why hold a Selection at all?" Eliza asked boldly.

"Because as much as our country is healthy on the inside, it is not so on the outside. Our alliances, and friendships with other countries are fragile at best. We were so focused on keeping our country together that somehow, over the years, our outside relations became weaker."

The Political Science student in her wanted to scream _That's a child's mistake!_ But she kept her comment in check. "And what are you planning, then?" she dared asked, already afraid of the answer.

"Your mother and I have sent out invitations to the thirty-two other countries and realms in the world, asking if they wanted to participate in competing for your hand in marriage, and in a chance to be Prince Consort by your side."

Eliza's eyes went wide.

"We have asked for noble and royal young men between the ages of twenty and twenty-six, and twenty-five answered to our invitation positively. Some refused, and some didn't take the time to answer at all."

"But father," Eliza said. "You do realize that this is some really delicate matter. Anything I say or do could end up in a war against us. Hell, it could bring on World War Four."

"I'm well aware of that," he said. "You will be using your new skills in Political science, and you will also learn diplomacy. The entire world will be watching you, Elisabeth."

Eliza and the others were silent for a long time. But a deal was a deal. She had promised to do what he said if she could have a normal education. He had held his end of the bargain, now it was her turn. "When do they arrive?" she asked, knowing she didn't have a choice.

"In two weeks," King Oliver said.

* * *

 _ **I know, I know, I said I wouldn't come back for a Selection SYOC for a few months... this is only part true. While waiting for NaNoWriMo to start**_ (I can't start working on my Nano project before Nov. 1) _ **, my fingers were itching to write, and I realized I needed some excerice in Political plots in my writing... so here I am, with a new Selection SYOC idea... hahaha... So, I'll be writing as much as I can before Nano, then I'll be**_ **on hiatus** _ **for a couple months, and I'll be working on my original project. Once it's done, I'll come back to this, I promise! you know me, i always finish my sotries^^**_

(SO this will give you time to send me really awesome characters! you'll have a few weeks, even maybe a couple months to do so...)

 _ **Anyway! As you may have understood, I'll be needing 25 young men between the ages of 20 and 26 from all around the world, nobles and Princes, with political interests and some drama in store. You'll find every information on my profile (Male Selected Form, Countries available, and a link to the Pinterest Board!)**_

 _ **Thanks for reading and welcome aboard! :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Two weeks. Eliza had two weeks to prepare.

After dinner, she excused herself and went outside to take some fresh air. Back in New York, she often went for a walk in the closest park, just to breathe something different. She was always shadowed by Linus, but now, in the Royal Gardens, she was all alone. There was no use having Linus around, here, since it was a safe place. But she missed him nonetheless. She was about to start saying something out loud when she remembered she was alone. A light breeze caressed her bare arms and she shivered.

She looked behind her, where the numerous windows were lit, making it look like a happy place. But inside, most of those lit rooms were empty.

"Not for long," she mumbled, hugging herself to stay warm. How was she to handle twenty-five men from different countries with different governments and political views? How could she get out of this alive? How would Illéa? She knew she had some serious study to do in the next couple weeks.

She went to bed already exhausted of the Selection. So many things could go wrong and create a fourth World War. So many things were now on her shoulders. She literally had to carry the weight of the world. Finally, after tossing and turning, blissful darkness took a hold of her and she fell asleep.

Only to be woken up in the morning by her Lady's Maid Samantha.

Blinding sun rays landed on Eliza's face and she quickly pulled the covers back up, groaning. Clearly, the night had been too short.

"I'm sorry to come this early, My Lady," Sam said. "Her Majesty told me she made an early appointment for you with the beautician."

Eliza frowned. "The beautician? But why? Now?"

Samantha shrugged. "I didn't ask, My Lady."

Five minutes later a breakfast tray came in, brought by a maid, and Eliza ate. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and large t-shirt, now relics from her time in New York. Samantha lead her to a private room near the infirmary, where a young woman loudly chewing a gum was waiting. "You're late. Your Highness," she added quickly.

Eliza sat on the paper covered bed. "Sorry. I didn't know I had to come this early," she said coldly.

"You might want to take everything off, Princess," the rude beautician said. "I heard there's a lot of work to do this morning. Name's Kora, by the way."

Eliza snorted, which came out as much unladylike as possible. But she obeyed and lay back down on the cold paper, only in her underwear.

"Wow," Kora said running her hand on the Princess's legs. "When was the last time you waxed?"

Eliza let out a chuckled. "Nobody has time for that. I shaved."

"Very bad, Your Highness," she said popping her gum. "This is gonna hurt."

Eliza took in a sharp breath as Kora spread out some hot wax on her legs. She then pulled it off in one quick motion. Eliza hissed in pain, but kept her mouth shut. Kora took hair out from everywhere, even from places Eliza didn't even know she had. It took a whole hour.

"There you go," Kora said when she was finished. "As smooth as a baby. I'll see you again in a month."

"I'm sorry?" Eliza asked, her head and arms stuck in her t-shirt.

"Yeah," Kora replied. "It won't last forever."

Eliza pulled her t-shirt down over her head. "Of course," she mumbled. "And you took great pleasure in making me suffer."

"What was that?" Kora asked.

"Nothing," Eliza answered. "I'll see you in a month." She stormed out of the room and directly to her mother's office. She didn't even knock and walked in on her mother talking with Henri Johnson, the Royal Planner.

"Oh, sorry," she said, a tiny-bit self-conscious about her outfit. "I thought you would be alone."

"Come in, Elisabeth. We were just talking about you and the Selection," Queen Elinor said, showing her a seat. "You remember Henri, right?"

Eliza nodded and sat in silence. Henri smiled and nodded at her.

"Very well," Elinor said. "Henri will be overseeing the Selected," she said, "training them and-"

"They don't need training, mom," Eliza blurted out. "They're all royals or something."

Elinor's smile tensed. "They are," she said, "but they all come from very different countries, which all have different etiquette and protocol. Henri will teach them the Illéan way, since one of them will become the next Illéan Prince Consort."

Eliza winced at the thought. She had met so many great guys during her five years in college. Couldn't she just have a normal Selection with normal guys? But no. She had to do the ultimate level of Selection affairs: International Royalty. What could be worse, seriously?

"The young men will have lessons in the morning," Henri was saying, looking into his black planner, "which will mostly consist of Illéan history, Illéan protocol and etiquette, and some other things they'll want to debate about." He paused. "They'll be free in the afternoons and evenings, and you can spend time with them then." He looked at her expectantly.

"Uh, okay," she answered, not knowing what else to say.

"And there will translators, in case some of them don't know English."

"Wait, stop right there. They don't know English?"

"We're not sure," Henri said. "But you're fluent in Spanish, French and English. It should be enough."

Eliza rolled her eyes and sat back on her armchair, pulling her legs to her, a habit she had taken in New York. Queen Elinor gave her the dark eye and Eliza slowly put her legs down and sat up straight. She was Her Royal Highness Elisabeth Regina Odelle Schreave, now. Not Eliza.

"Anything else I should know?" she asked her mother.

"Actually, there is," she replied leaning over her desk and grabbing a bunch of folders. "These are the countries that have answered positively to our call. Among them are New Asia, New England, the United Kingdoms of Africa, and Switzerland. Among others, of course, but you should work on getting to know how their government work, and what political views they hold, so you don't make a mistake when the young men arrive."

Eliza took the heavy pile of folders, and opened the first one, Swendway. She filed through it and frowned. "What about the guys? Shouldn't I also learn about them?"

"You will. But first the countries. It's your priority, right now. Once you've learned all that, we'll give you the Selected's folders."

Eliza's shoulder's slumped. "I'm not a baby anymore," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" Elinor said.

"I said I was old enough to know how to study. I've done that for the past five years and more. You're still babying me."

Henri looked elsewhere. Clearly, he was in the wrong place, now.

"We are not babying you, Eliza," her mother said softly, using her nickname. "We're just trying to help."

Eliza stood. "Well, thanks. I have work to do. I'll see you later." She walked as fast as she could without running out of her mother's office and headed to her room. She let the pile of papers fall loudly on her desk, and sighed at the same time.

-x-x-x-

Three days later, after studying practically non-stop the folders her mother had given her, she couldn't read another line. She needed an afternoon off. She went to her closet and found her riding outfit and boots and quickly headed to the stables. Last time she had come here was the previous summer. If she was going to ride with the Selected – why not? – she needed some practice. The stablemen who were there prepared her horse, Luna, and she started with a light trot. When she was comfortable enough she pushed Luna to a low galop, and then a faster galop. She grinned as she raced across the Palace grounds. This was the closest feeling of being free, like she had been for many years.

When Luna and her got too tired to continue, she made Luna walk at her own pace back to the stables. She felt refreshed and new after this little outing. She gave Luna a couple apples and walked back to the Palace, her velvet helmet in her hands, a light smile on her face. Upon arriving at the entrance, she noticed a black limo was just driving in. It stopped and a young man she didn't recognized stepped out, opening the door for a young red-hair woman Eliza recognized instantly.

"Millie!" she called out, accelerating her pace, almost running.

"Liz!" her sister exclamed. They ran into each other and hugged fiercely. "Oh my goodness, it's so good to see you! I can't believe you're here! When did you get here?"

"Three days ago," Eliza said. "And I'm already drowning in official papers."

Millie laughed. "But you went riding."

"I needed a break," Eliza laughed defensively. She looked at the handsome young man waiting behind Millie.

"Oh, this is Alaric, my boyfriend," she grinned, taking Alaric's hand in hers. He was quite tall and pretty large – _he works out a lot_ , Eliza thought – with short brown hair, clear eyes and a three-day stubble. "He's the Duke of Rockefeller. You probably remember his father."

Eliza's eyebrows went to her hairline. "As in _the_ Rockefeller? Dad's friend?"

"Yeah," Millie said.

"Nice to finally meet you, Your Highness," Alaric said in his deep voice with small bow.

"And I you," Eliza replied, not really sure how to act around him, yet.

"Come on, let's get inside," Millie said, looping her arm in her sister's and the three of them walked up the stairs and into the Palace.

"How was Paloma?" Eliza asked, trying to makepolite conversation. She felt like a stranger in her own home.

"It was amazing," Millie said. "There were so many people there, and did you know this is the fifth school we've opened this year?"

"Fifth?" Eliza said. "How did you do that?"

Millie's shoulders slumped a little. "I've been working on this for three years, Liz. Haven't you followed anything? Watched the Report or read the news?"

"No," Eliza said, feeling guilty for the first time about this. "I have not." She had wanted to stay away from her royal life as much as she could.

Millie sighed. "Alaric helped me a lot. We've been asking for funds and material donations to open the schools. For now, we're aiming for one School per Province in the next three years."

Eliza raised an eyebrow, truly impressed. Millie was really better at this Princess stuff then she was. What had she done to better her country? Nothing. All she did was selfishly study, away from all this. "That's amazing, Millie," Eliza said, trying to keep her tone light. "I'm really impressed." She offered her a tight smile and excused herself, claiming she had to clean up and get back to work before dinner.

Yes, she was a stranger in her own home. _If you can call that a home_ , she thought. Most of the rooms were empty all of the time.

When she stepped out of the shower she heard the piano playing. Millie had found her Grand Steinway piano after a week away, and now she had some catching up to do. That was one thing Eliza never understood: music. She liked to listen to some music from time to time, or even in clubs, but that was it. How someone could create such beautiful sounds and melodies was out of her grasp. She froze for a few minutes, listening to Millie's playing, and realized how she had missed it.

Now _this_ was home.

She sat down at her desk and continued to go through the files and papers. She had gotten only to study half of it in the past three days, and she still had more to go through. A light knock on her door made her jump.

"Yeah?" she called out, not looking up.

Linus popped his head into her room. "Sorry to disturb you," he said. "May I come in?"

"Sure," Eliza smiled. They had lived in the same apartment for five years, as housemates. But somehow, having him in her room felt different. Almost awkward.

"I, uh," he said, his fists stuffed in his pockets. "I just wanted to check on you. How's the homecoming?"

Eliza smiled, but it was a sad smile. "It's fine," she lied. "It's weird to be home, but I have to get used to it, I guess." She looked around. "Can you imagine that our apartment in New York could fit in this room?"

Linus chuckled and looked around. "The kitchen would be there," he pointed towards the window, "piling with dirty dishes, and the living room and dining room here."

They were both silent for a moment, going back in time a few days, when they were still in Waverly.

"So," Linus said. "About that Selection?"

Eliza looked up. "What about it?"

"When is it going to be announced on the Report?"

She looked away. "There's not going to be one," she said softly. "At least not one you're expecting."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's an international Selection. Invitations have been sent to all thirty-two countries, and twenty-five will send one young man from a royal or noble family."

"What?" Linus said barely above a whisper.

"That means that I'll be walking on eggshells for the next few weeks and months. One wrong step or move and we could be waiting for a rain pour of nukes and missiles on Illéa."

Both were silent for a long time.

"Okay," Linus said clearly angry but trying very hard to hide it. "I'll let you work. Sorry." He walked out without waiting for her to say anything. Eliza went back to reading her documents, but she couldn't concentrate.

-x-x-x-

Later that evening, the table at dinner was fuller than the previous days, with Millie and her Duke there with them.

"Father," Eliza said between the first and second course. "I was wondering how the people will react to an International Selection instead of the Traditional one. Do they already know?"

King Oliver finished his mouthful of food before answering. All ears and eyes were on him. "No, they don't know yet. We're announcing it on the Report tomorrow night. It will be announced in a Special Report."

"I think the International Selection is a great idea," Millie pipped in. "It'll be good for International affairs, right?"

"Not if I do one little mistake," Eliza said bitterly. "And we could end up a bomb crater."

Millie blanched. Clearly, she did not think of that. "Oh," she said. And suddenly her deepest wish to be Heir to the throne became very little and insignificant. For now.

-x-x-x-

"Hello Illéa!" Ruby Wright said once the Anthem was finished, jumping on the Report stage. "Oh, my God, this evening is going to be so awesome!"

Eliza cringed a little, only now remembering how bubbly and over-the-top Ruby was. She had been working as the Report Host for only three years, and Eliza had never seen her live. Her parents never let her be on the Report for as long as she was studying, to keep her a mystery to the people, until the day she came back. And today was the day.

"We have a _very_ special person with us tonight, although I wouldn't call her a guest, since this is actually her rightful place, but could be all warmly welcome Princess Elisabeth Schreave?" She was so excited she almost squealed out her name.

Eliza came out of the shadows and regally walked to the center of the stage to join Ruby. She waved at the Live Audience who cheered and clapped and whooped. Eliza kept her smile on her face as she approached. She was wearing a dark gray simple dress with floral beadings on the top and spreading down to the skirt. On her red hair was a rather big floral tiara, reminding everyone shoe she was: the rightful Heir of Illéa who was finally back home.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, Your Highness," Ruby said, gushing over the Princess. "And this is actually the first time I have you on this stage with me. So tell me," she started once they were both seated. "How many College degrees do you have, now?"

"Three," Eliza said.

"I wish I could say the same," Ruby laughed. "And can you remind what they are?"

Eliza tried not to roll her eyes. Surely everyone knew, didn't they? "Political Science, Spanish and French."

"I think you might be the Royal with the most College degrees in her pockets in years!" Ruby laughed, again. "And now that you're back home, what is going to be your next step?"

Eliza braced herself as she remembered her text her father had written for her to memorize. "As you know, it is customary for Heirs to hold a Selection. But," Eliza said, cutting Ruby who was about to say something, "it's not the Traditional Selection." She paused and Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"How so? Are you going to be selecting girls, instead?" Ruby asked, genuinely curious. Was she faking the whole thing, or did she really not know? Eliza forgot to ask beforehand, thinking she knew already.

"No, I'm going to be Selecting young men." She took a deep breath. "As you may have noticed, our country is very healthy. My grandmother, Queen Mother Andromeda, as well as Queen Elinor and Princess Emilia, have been doing an excellent job in unifying the country and making it better. But now, we need to look outside our borders and mend our International Relations. So, that said, the Selected will come from several countries of the whole world."

Ruby's jaw dropped practically to the floor. Either she's a very good actress, or she didn't know.

"So you're going to marry a foreigner?"

"Yes, which will secure ourselves Allies and friends."

The Live Audience was silent, stunned. Surely most of the young men out there had been waiting for the Crown Princess's Selection. Now what?

"My sister has been doing some amazing work during my absence," Eliza said trying to change the subject and ease the tension in the Studio. She invited Millie to join her on the settee. "Why don't you tell us about your few days in Panama?"

"Oh, Elisabeth, it was absolutely incredible! We had so many donations and we were able to accommodate fifteen classrooms, it was simply a miracle, and a dream come true. Illéa has been so kind and united for this project."

"When and where is the next School opening?" Ruby asked.

"Well, now that the Southern Provinces are equipped with Schools for Eights and Sevens, we're hoping to go further North, maybe Zuni or Sumner, which ever one has enough donations and funds first. But those are the two runner-ups."

"How exciting!" Ruby said. "You're doing so much good for this country, Princess Emilia. I wish you luck on your project."

"Thank you, Ruby."

Both Princesses went back to their designated seats, on the side, and Ruby invited King Oliver for a few words – which Eliza tuned out pretty quickly – and the Report was over.

Now there was only one week left before her life turned upside down. And she was not looking forward to it.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! OMG thank you so much for all your reviews and support on the first chapter! And I'm really happy to see so many people excited and interested in this story! in less than 24 hours, 17 slots had been reserved. As of now, there are only 8 slots left! go check which countries are left and PM me to reserve it. First come first served, though. ;)**_

 _ **I'm also really happy to have long time submitters**_ (some have been reading my craziness for a long time, and submitting to all or most of my SYOC, cheers to rysaspirit, La Rosa, Berrybush123, and Sabinethefangirl... among others!^^) _ **and many of you are new readers and submitters! Welcome on this crazy adventure. haha. You may don't know me yet, but I'm a crazy writer. When I'm in a good phase of writing, I can write several chapters a week.**_ (One of my stories was posted every single day... and was over in a month. Not this one, though! don't worry...)

 _ **Anyway! Thanks again, and I can't wait to meet your characters^^ see ya!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Saturday was usually a day when Eliza simply chilled and didn't do anything important. Back in New York, she would go shopping, hang out with friends, or just watch TV. But now that she was not Eliza anymore, but her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth Regina Odelle Schreave – how she hated that long ridiculous name – she had a whole schedule planned out for her.

"I've taken the liberty to order new dresses for you," Queen Elinor said, as they stepped in the princess's gigantic walk-in closet. All her old clothes were gone, donated, and she had a few dozen new dresses. "This is just for starters. Of course, we'll have special gowns designed for special occasions, like your 25thbirthday that will be coming up in a couple months." Elinor ran her hand on the delicate fabrics of the dresses hanging in the closet.

"Is this really necessary, mom?" Eliza asked, overwhelmed by not only the new dresses, but also the new shoes and accessories. Everything was too shiny and new. And too much.

"Yes. Emilia helped pick everything out. You know how she loves that."

Eliza nodded and shared a quick glance with her grandmother who was tagging along, if only to give her some moral support. Andromeda smiled and held a dress out. "You should wear this one when you meet them for the first time," she said. "First impressions are always the most important, Elisabeth."

Eliza's smile tensed. "Isn't it a bit too bold? Maybe something more discreet?"

Andromeda chuckled. "No, darling. You need to show who you are and make those boys bend the knee in front of you. Illéa is one of the most powerful and largest countries in the world. They need to know they're not on their soil, but on yours, and that you're the boss."

The dress was a bright red strapless gown in a very fine silk, shimmering at the slightest move, and with a crispy sound when you touched it. It was gorgeous. One couldn't deny it. But wasn't it a bit too much?

But Eliza chuckled. Hearing her refined grandmother using the expression _you're the boss_ was funny to her ears. In a sense, she was right. She had to made a good first impression. But she still wasn't sure about the dress.

Andromeda still took it out and gave it to a made so it was pressed and ready for the first meeting with the young men. Or _Boys_ , how Andromeda had called them.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Tokyo, New Asia. National language: Japanese._**

Haruhito was focused on his computer, writing an important scene in his book, his fat cat lazily sleeping on his shoulders, when there was a knock on his door. He frowned. His sister wasn't at home and his parents didn't live there. He lifted his head and met his parents coming in without being invited to. Of course. How typical.

"Are you writing again?" his mother, Miyako, Princess Mikasa, asked with a frown.

Haruhito closed his laptop with a loud _clap,_ making Adern jump from his sleeping place and stroll away. He put his computer aside. "To what do I owe the pleasure of having you step into my humble home?" he asked sarcastically, from the Penthouse of a high building in Tokyo.

His mother found a free chair and sat while his father Michihito, Prince Mikasa and Prince Regent, brother of the Emperor, stayed standing.

"We don't ask much of you, at least when it comes to the public eye, but you are going to fly to Illéa next week," he announced bluntly, without any preamble.

Haruhito raised an eyebrow, which got lost in his long black bangs. "What for?"

"Princess Elisabeth is holding an International Selection, and we decided you will be the one to represent New Asia, and your uncle, the Emperor, accepted."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" he simply said, his tone empty of any emotion.

"No," Miyako said. "You don't."

The young Prince sighed. "Fine. But the cat and my laptop are coming too."

"The cat?" his father said.

"Master Adern," he replied. "The one you didn't want me to keep. Remember?"

His father cleared his throat. "I'm not sure they will be very welcoming of an animal, in Illéa."

"It's that, or I'm not going. Besides, you won't even see a difference if I take him or not, and I'll keep him in my room the whole time, anyway."

Princess Miyako of Mikasa whispered something in her husband's ear. "Fine. Take the cat and your bloody computer," Michihito said. "But you better be on your best behavior, there," he added.

"And I've written down everything you need to know on the Princess, and how to win her heart. There are also some pointers about Illéa's government and politics, and you should read this and learn it by heart," she said, handing him a file with papers in it.

Haruhito took it and skimmed the pages. "Sure, I'll read it," he shrugged. But he doubted he'd remember anything, really. "Is that all? Can I go back to what I was doing?"

His father sighed. Clearly his younger son was better prepared for this kind of event, but he was too young to participate in that Selection. And he needed to keep Haruhito out of his way for the next few weeks, anyway. Not as if he was in his way, but it would be better if he was on the other side of the world.

"Very well, then," his father said. "You'll be leaving in a week. The Emperor will be having a dinner party just before your departure to see you off, be there on time."

Haruhito grunted. "Do I have to go? Can't I just go discreetly? I don't want to go to the Imperial Palace."

"Don't argue with your father," Miyako said, standing to go. "Just be there." That said, they both left and Haruhito was left alone. Master Adern, his ginger cat, came out of his hiding place and rubbed against the Prince's legs. He patted his cat, which relaxed him a bit. At least Adern could come with him. He would at least have a friend, there.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Stockholm, Swendway_** ** _. National language: Swedish._**

"So," Princess Jeyes said, as she rode in the countryside with her older brother. "When are you leaving for Illéa?"

"In a few days," Prince Aleksander replied, a little absentminded.

"And are you excited?"

"Yeah. But there's a lot at stake, too, so that's kind of scary."

"Oh, come on," she said, nudging him playfully. "You're not scared of anything, Alek."

He let out a burst of laughter. "I'm glad you think that, Jey."

She laughed along with him. "I'll race you to the tree line!" she said, spurring Dash, her brown stallion. But since she was a far better rider than Aleksander, she was quickly ahead of him, and never to be overtaken.

"Why do you always do that?" Alek asked, out of breath and laughing.

"What? Winning?" she laughed lightly.

"No, always starting first. It's cheating."

"Of course it's not cheating. I'm just testing your reflexes."

The Swendish Prince rolled his eyes. "We better head back home. Mom said there were some things she wanting to go over with me for the Selection."

The Princess agreed and they both headed back to the Palace, mostly in silence. Alek mentally kicked himself for not taking his camera with him. The sky was a perfect color and his sister would have been beautiful in the picture.

"Are you and dad going to talk before you go to Illéa?"

"Why should we?" Alek said, his tone suddenly cold. "He has no interest in me. Or in anyone else. Last time we spoke was two years ago, when I had my PhD."

Jeyes sighed. "I think it's sad. You should try to talk to him before you go."

"Out of the question," he said, pushing his horse a little faster, leaving his sister behind for a little while. His relationship with his dad wasn't something he wanted to talk about. Jeyes knew that, but she still came back to it. Every. Single. Time.

When the royal siblings had left their horses in the care of the stablemen, they headed to the Palace. Alek didn't take the time to change or clean up, he directly went to his mother's private rooms.

"Hello, mom," he said, grinning. He placed a kiss on her cheek and sat on a chair near her. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did," Queen Catarina said. "I wanted to discuss the upcoming Selection with you. As you well know," she continued, not giving him space to talk, yet, "Illéa and Swendway have been allies for decades. Now, I have a feeling this is not so with all the countries represented by the other contestants. Your father and I want you to know that if she does not choose you, the alliance will not be broken."

"Good to know," Alek said. "But I'm not going there for you or _him_ ," he practically hissed the word, talking about his father. "I'm going there for myself."

Queen Catarina pursed her lips. "I know." She sighed. "You have to behave, there, nonetheless. You're going to be there for Princess Elisabeth. Not for anyone else."

Alek chuckled. "What? You're afraid I'm going to fall for one of the boys?" He snorted. "I know why I'm going, mom. I just want to show you, and _him_ , that I'm not just _the bisexual Prince_ the tabloids talk about. "I'm-"

"You're Prince Aleksander who happens to be bisexual, I know," she finished the sentence. "You say that all the time."

"And I mean it." He grunted and started walking around the room. "Why is it so much an issue with you guys?" he asked, annoyed.

The Queen had no answer to his question, and simply kept silent.

"I'm going to go clean up and start packing," he mumbled, walking away, somewhat angry.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Belvédère Castle, Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium. National language: Dutch._**

"Don't be too much of a schmoozer to the Illéan Princess," Nikolas, his older brother and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Belgium said. "You're representing us. So don't screw up."

Prince Sebastien Alexander Johan Frederick van Helms – that was a mouthful of a name, and people usually just called him Seb – pushed his brother playfully. "Oh, come on. You know me. I wouldn't do that."

"Of course not," Niko said sarcastically. "You're the perfect boy." He rolled his eyes and both laughed, knowing how that was totally untrue. And yes, Seb was going to be a schmoozer. Like he always was

"And you better keep an eye on mom, while I'm gone."

"You're leaving me alone with her horrible puns?" Niko whined with amusement in his brown eyes. "How dare you?"

Seb chuckled and fiddled with his watch. "It's just for a few weeks. A few months at the most. You'll survive."

Niko grunted and the two brothers headed to dinner. Better not be late or they would be hearing about this for a long time. Unfortunately, they were the last in the dining room. But it was just a private family dinner, only the four of them.

King Maximus Phillipe Georg-Alexander van Helms looked from under his graying eyebrows. As usual, he was wearing the crispest suit he owned. "You're late," he said.

"Sorry," the Princes said in unison, sharing a glance.

"I hope you'll have better manners in Illéa," Queen Victoria Marie van Helms said. "It wouldn't look good for you to be late for dinner. So many eyes will be on you."

"Me?" Seb said. "I thought there were thirty of us."

"Twenty-five," his father corrected. "And not all of them are allies with Illéa. You need to secure that alliance, and maybe make more, with the other young men. Make friends not only with the Princess."

Seb rolled his eyes. "Tell me again why I'm doing this? Because the more I think of it, the more I think it's a bad idea."

King Maximus sighed. "Since we can't send heirs, and your brother is already engaged to that Lady-"

"She has a name," Niko said, irritated.

"I know. But it's not the point right now," his father replied. "As I was saying, since your brother is _otherwise_ engaged, I'm left only with you, and I think it's time for you to contribute to this family and country, especially since you spent so much of your time outside our borders."

Seb was silent for a moment. "Fine," he conceded. "But don't expect me to fall in love or marry her," he said. "I'll see how things go and work from there."

"Of course," his mother said. "No pressure, Sebastian."

-x-x-x-

Eliza walked angrily to her father's private office, her heels clicking loudly on the marble floor, a noise she had not missed during her years of absence. Her dress flowed around her, making it look like she had a set of wings. She pushed open her father's office door without knocking – apparently that had become a new habit of hers – and walked on her father smoking a cigar, his feet propped up on his desk. He looked as surprised as her and quickly put his feet down.

"What is it, Elisabeth?" he asked, putting his cigar down.

In answer to that, Eliza smacked down on the desk the newspaper. "Are you happy about this?" she asked.

King Oliver took the papers and read out loud. " ** _PRINCESS ELISABETH TOO GOOD TO HOLD A SELECTION WITH COMMONERS?"_** the title said in big, black, bold, italic letters. The King looked up to his daughter over the rim of his glasses.

"So?"

"It's not true!" she burst out. "I would happily marry a _commoner_ , how you like to call them. I've been one for the past years."

"I'm well aware of that," the King said. "And it's time for you take your rightful place back. You've been selfish until now, and now you need to learn your place: The Crown Princess of Illéa."

Eliza rolled her eyes, not hiding her annoyance at all this. "Did you ever stop to think about what the people would think of this? You thought you were doing a smart move on the Report, last night by quickly moving on to Millie's humanitarian work for the Country. But they were frozen the minute they realized there would not be a Selection for them." She paused, talking her breath. "And Ruby's reaction was not helping. Did you even tell her?"

"No," the King replied. "She and the people needed reminding that we decide what's best for our country. And right now, an International Selection is the best thing."

"Then give them another Selection, with Millie."

"You know I can't do that. She already has a boyfriend."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Why do I have the feeling like you wouldn't care if I had come back home with a fiancé?"

"You're right, I would have asked you to break off the engagement." He cleared his throat. "But there's another reason why I can't let Emilia hold her own Selection."

"And why is that?" Eliza asked, ungracefully sitting down on a chair.

"Because only Heirs hold Selections."

Again, Eliza sighed. "And what do you do about the _traditions_ that said that spare Princes and Princesses were used to solidify foreign alliances by being married off to other countries? Why does it have to be me?

"Because everyone has its eyes on you," he said calmly. "You're a much bigger prize than your sister. You're going to be Queen someday. By marrying your sister, we don't have anything to offer. She would be the one to become Queen, in another country. And you and I both know you're much more suited for this."

"We could both be Queens, then," she mumbled.

King Oliver looked at his daughter. Really looked at her. She had grown up so much since the last time he had really seen her. And what a beauty she had become. And a strong-minded woman. His Pride. She would without a doubt, make him even prouder with her Selection.

"My decision is made, Elisabeth," he said softly. "I'll make a statement to the people, if you think that'll help."

"You know what would help?" she said after a moment. "The people need to know these foreign boys. They need to know them since one of them is going to be their Prince Consort. We can at least give them that. Someone to root for."

Her father slowly nodded. "Excellent idea," he conceded. "I'll have a chat with Henri and Ruby about it."

"Thank you," she said, standing up. "And sorry for interrupting your… alone time," she said awkwardly, looking at the smoke coming out of the forgotten cigar.

"I'm glad you came, Eliza," Oliver said, using her nickname for the first time in ages. "It was good talking to you. For real."

Eliza nodded, turned around, and frowned, confused. This had been more of an argument than a civilized conversation.

* * *

 _ **Heya! thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews you guys left me on the previous chapters! I was excited to see how much YOU guys were excited =D I hope I won't disappoint you with this story... hehehe.**_

 _ **I'll be working on the world-wide alliances soon and posting a visual chart on Pinterest so it'll be easier to understand**_ (Thanks Millyna for the idea!) _ **. And speaking of Pinterest, thanks to those who have already started to pin stuff! i'm just si excited to see your pins all the time xD**_

 _ **There are only 3 spots left**_ (THREE!) _ **, so if you want to submit, do it fast!**_ (First come, first served, though^^)

 _ **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! the boys introduced in this chapter were created by**_ Millyna _ **,**_ Sabinethefangirl _ **, and**_ Crunch-Crunch-Crunch _ **. THANKS!**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

There were only five days left before the Selected arrived, and Eliza still had a lot of work to do. She was bent over paper documents all spread around her on the floor, trying to understand the countries' relationships with each other. She was going to have people who were allies or enemies under the same roof, so she better learn who they were and why they were in that situation.

Right now, she was stuck on the Mongolian and New Asian War: the Mongasian War. She sighed, a slight headache throbbing in the back of her head. All of her College friends were on vacation, somewhere on an exotic beach. But her? She was stuck going through political relations around the world. She could have had at least a month's vacation, right?

She stood and walked around her office, stretching her legs and rang for some refreshments. "Make that two," she added.

She opened her office door and found Linus standing at his post.

"Hey," she said coming over.

"Hi," he said a little coldly, but his gaze quickly warmed up to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "I could use some help, though."

Linus' face broke into a grin. "Sure? What do you need help with?"

She motioned for him to follow her back into the room, and he froze at the sight of the paper-covered floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm trying to figure out the international relations," she said. "And you know as well as me that I have not followed anything in the past years. So I have a lot a catching up to do. And," she said, after taking her breath, "I'm stuck. I can't seem to untangle all this. There is too much information to grasp all at once."

Linus nodded. "Uh, sure." He chuckled awkwardly and crouched, one knee on the floor and the other bent against his chest, his chin on the knee. "Let's see. Why don't you start by organizing by country? Right no you have everything mixed up."

Eliza nodded and did just that. Five minutes later she was done.

"Okay, now maybe organize by Continent? Usually, countries build alliances and start wars with their own neighbors."

Eliza chuckled. "I should have called you hours ago," she said, sitting on the floor beside him. She was close to him. Too close. Her perfume filled Linus' senses and he closed his eyes. Eliza organized the countries by continents and looked up to Linus, surprised to find him with his eyes closed.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he quickly said, coming out of his daze. Just then, a maid came in with the refreshments, which was a good distraction for Linus. He stood and gave Eliza a glass of lemonade. "Now, you have to figure out who's allies with who. There are the trade agreements, like us and New Asia, or Marriage Alliances. Again, I think New Asia has been marrying off lots of their spares to make alliances."

"How do you know all that?" she asked, sipping her cold drink.

He chuckled. "I read the newspapers when we were in Waverly."

Eliza laughed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I recall you saying that you didn't want anything to do with royalty, ours or foreign, while you were in College." He smirked, and Eliza blushed. She didn't know if it was out of guilt for not taking interest in what should be her life, or Linus' smile. She missed being around him all the time. Back in Waverly, they were always together. Their gazes met for a long minute, before she looked away to work on her International Relations on the floor.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Queenstown, New Zealand. National Language: English_**

Prince Rance Christian DiLorenzo Lexington II was passing the time watching _Frozen_ with his little four-year-old sister, Princess Roseanne Kaira Lexington. But he didn't mind. He liked Disney movies, even if he had watched them a million times, already. Roseanne was talking all along, commenting on the story.

"That's funny!" she laughed, pointing at the screen, when Olaf got impaled by an icicle. Rance laughed too, because that was the last part he thought she would laugh. He didn't follow everything in the movie, though, and let his thoughts wander for a bit, nodding at what Roseanne was saying.

Chips, his two-year-old Australian Shepherd dog was lying on the floor next to him, raising his head each time the Princess squealed or laughed, making it impossible for him to nap.

The credits appeared on the screen, and Roseanna started singing _Let it Go_ from the top of her lungs, dancing around the room, and Rance just grinned. How he would miss her when he left for Illéa. If only she and Chips could come with him, it would make everything better.

"Sing with me, Rance!" Rosanne said, taking his hands and trying to pull him to his feet. And Rance obliged. How many times he had sung that song, he couldn't count anymore.

"Your Highness," a valet said, coming into the room. "The King is expecting you."

Rance nodded. "Thanks. I'll be right there."

"Can I come?" Rosie asked, placing her small hand in his.

"Sure," he grinned. He wanted to spend every single minute he could with her before leaving. "Chips, come on!" He patted his leg, and the dog was at his feet in a couple seconds. They walked down the hall, and Rance was careful to match his strides with those of his sister. He knocked on the King's Conference room door. A valet opened and Rance entered, followed by his two favorite sidekicks. King Royston Christian DiLorenzo Lexington slightly frowned at the sight, especially since all of his advisors were here.

Rance sat in the last empty chair, taking Rosie on his lap, who cuddled against him, a little intimidated by all these people. Chips lied down under the Prince's chair without a sound.

"We need to discuss the upcoming Selection in Illéa," King Royston said. Rance nodded. "As you may know, New Asia will be represented there by His Imperial Highness Prince Haruhito of Mikasa. We are on good terms with New Asia, and have a beneficial Trade Agreement."

Again, Rance nodded. He knew all that.

"You need to be extra friendly with the Prince. We don't want to lose this alliance."

"And the others?" Rance asked. "Anyone you want me to _befriend_ for a new alliance?" he asked.

"Not necessarily. But if it does come to it, it could be beneficial for us. New Asia is the most important ally for now."

"What about the Princess? Isn't Illéa also a potential ally?" he asked.

"Yes. If you can secure an alliance with Illéa, it's good, since they're one of the greatest powers in the world, after New Asia and the Russian Empire."

"And New England," Rance added, which got him a nod from the advisors. After a few more minutes, he was dismissed.

"Are you really going to go to Illéa?" Rosie asked, looking up to her dearly beloved older brother.

"Yeah," he said, crouching down to be eye-level with her. "I'm afraid I will."

Her chin quivered and a silent tear fell down her cheek. Rance quickly dried it.

"Hey, don't cry, Princess," he said with love in his voice. "I won't be gone long. And Chips is going to stay here with you. So you can stay with him, okay?"

She nodded and hugged him fiercely. Rance picked her up and walked outside to the gardens. They would play catch with Chips to keep her mind off all this.

-x-x-x-

 ** _London, New England. National Language: English._**

Lord Tomlin Huxley Calvert, grand-son of the current King of New England was concentrating to hit the small wooden ball. His Polo teammates were all holding their breaths because this was the last few seconds of the game, and if Tom could secure the goal, they would win. The opposite team pushed their horses faster, in the hopes of stopping him, but he managed to hit the ball just in time. It flew all the way into the goal and the crowd of aristocrats and Royals jumped to their feet, cheering.

Tom and his three other teammates congratulated each other on the game, happy to win this year's championship. It was Tom's last days in New England before flying to Illéa, and he was happy to spend it doing this, after going over so many things about the Selection for weeks with the King. He needed a break, and the Polo match was just what he needed.

"Congratulations!" Joseph, Tom's older brother said, clasping his brother by the shoulder and shaking his hand. "It's great to finish with a victory, before leaving."

Tom chuckled but rolled his eyes. "Don't talk about that," he said. "I'm having fun right now."

Joe laughed and shook his head. "Well, you're going in five days. You can't back out now."

"I don't want – and I can't – back out. I just want to enjoy my last few days here before leaving."

"I though you enjoyed traveling? One of your passions, remember?" Joe said slyly.

"It's not the same. I'm going there for political reasons, which you know I don't even understand. And let's hope the Princess doesn't know that."

He gave his brown stallion to a horse groom and walked away with Joe. A group of cousins and friends from the crowd was just coming in, speaking loudly, and congratulated Tom on the final point that made them win. Tom grinned and was really proud of himself. But he didn't do it alone, because he also had a team. Yes, he was the team captain, but he couldn't have done this alone.

After a celebratory party, Tom went back home. He stripped, put his earrings on again – he couldn't wear them for Polo for dress code and protocol reasons – and took a shower. It was late in the night, maybe even early in the morning, but he didn't care. He had owned the day and had fun. That's what was the most important. In five – four – days, he would be at the Illéan court, and fun might not always be on the program.

He knew he would have to tread carefully, especially with the New Asian and Mongolian Princes. If New England actively took part in the Mongasian War, it would start a World War. Again. For now, they're just supporting the Mongolian cause. And he also knows that if Illéa takes sides in this war, it'll be a complete World War. How he didn't want to be in Princess Elisabeth's shoes, right now. But other than that, he had no idea what else was going on.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Rome, Italy. National Language: Italian._**

 _Take the day_

 _and leave us_

 _the moon_

carpe noctum

 _and we will_

 _seize_

 _the night._ _(*)_

Perched on the roof of the Roman Palace, Cassius Julian Vanderbuilt – also known as CJ by his friends and family – looked over the lit city under the peaceful presence of the moon above. His pen hovered a moment above his notebook, before putting the final dot. Yes. Those words were perfect. He breathed in the fresh air that had finally fell over Rome, after a too warm day.

The city looked amazing under the moon, all lit. He could still hear some cars coming and going in the city, but it was peaceful. His favorite kind of peace that restored the soul.

He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what Illéa would be like. And what Princess Elisabeth would be like, too. Ever since the moment his father asked him to take part in this Political Selection, he daydreamed about the whole process. Would she like him? Would he?

Over the past years he had not heard about the Princess, nor seen pictures of her. But what he had seen during their latest Report had immensely pleased him, liking what he had learned about her in that small window of time.

And he couldn't wait to meet her.

He closed his notebook and came down of the roof through the service stairs and door, and headed to his room. It was the middle of the night and the Palace was eerily quiet. And totally dark. No one was up except for some guards posted here and there in case of an emergency.

But there was light under Siena's door. _What is she still doing up this late?_ CJ wondered. He knocked on her door. Half a minute later, she opened it and peeked her head out. "Oh, it's you. Come in," she said stepping aside and opened the door wider. CJ stepped in.

"What are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, so I'm just going over some stuff. Here, look at this," she said, handing him some articles she had cut out or printed out. Each one was about a young man going to Illéa, to participate in the Selection.

"Anything important I should know?" he asked, quickly going through them without reading them.

"Maybe you should check out the animosity. You're an easy-going guy and people trust you. Maybe you could make everyone be friends? At least during the Selection?"

CJ frowned. "Why would I do that and risk a bigger war?"

"Okay, think of it this way,", she said, sitting cross-legged on her bed. "Princess Elisabeth has to deal with practically all the countries in the world without making a mistake. If you could help her, make it easier for you, maybe she'll choose you in the end." She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "I know how you admire her, CJ. Don't deny it."

He chuckled. "I don't deny it. But I don't think I'm the best person for that. I mean for the making-everyone-friends thing."

Siena shrugged. "I think you are. You're a sensitive guy, and you'll feel the thing. I promise."

CJ sat next to her. "I'll think about it. Can I keep these?"

"Sure."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, then both yawned at the same time and burst out laughing.

"I should go," CJ said. "See you in the morning."

-x-x-x-

Now that Elizahad grasped the whole International Relations thing, thanks to Linus's help, she could start digging deeper into the contestants. Queen Elinor had given her a whole new folder with everything she could find and that was important to know about the new guests coming over.

Most of them were Princes, too far in line for the throne to be called to rule their own country. Others were Dukes or Earls, and there was even one Lieutenant. From Switzerland. She would have to dig in more.

But for now, all the names were blending together in her mind, and she couldn't think straight. Who was related to who? Who already knew some other contestants? And which ones? Ugh.

She put the file away and stood, stretching from the top of her fingertips to the point of her toes, letting out a long breath once she relaxed. Only three days left. On the second floor of the Palace, footmen and maids were busy preparing the rooms and making it all perfect for their arrival.

There was a knock on her door. She didn't even have the time to say _come in_ that her mother was already striding in.

"Elisabeth," she said. "I've come up with a grand idea. Your father and all the advisors agreed it was beneficial for all of us, and Emilia is already getting everything ready." She beamed, practically grinning from ear to ear.

Eliza raised an eyebrow, already dreading what her mother's incredible idea was. _Please don't say a Ball. Please don't say a Ball. Please don't say a Ball._

"You are going to hold the grandest Ball of the Century!" Elinor had trouble containing her excitement. "Imagine: royals, dignitaries and representatives of practically every country in the world, together in an official Event, held by Illéa, one of the greatest world powers."

Eliza grimaced a smile. "You said Emilia's already planning it?"

"Yes, and she's been working at it for a couple days."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Eliza asked, annoyed.

"Because we wanted to be sure it could be done. And now you know. And that's when you're going to meet them all. You will not be seeing them until then."

"How long after they come?" Eliza asked, hoping for a few more days of respite.

"Oh, just the next evening. They arrive on Wednesday, the Ball's on Thursday, and then we show some film clips of the Ball on the Report and have all of Illéa meet the Contestants." She paused. "You were right, by the way. Oliver told me of your conversation, and your idea to have Illéa get to know the young men enough to choose one and root for them was an excellent idea." She flashed her daughter a grin. "I'll see you at dinner," she said, walking away of the Princess's room, satisfied.

Once she was gone, Eliza simply sat on the floor and lay down on the plush carpet. She didn't have the energy to go to her bed. _A Ball? Seriously?_ She sighed and closed her eyes, trying not to break down and cry. A Princess never cried. Whatever the reason. But couldn't this be an exception? Because, really. A Ball?

Eliza couldn't even remember the last time she went to a ball. She was probably thirteen, and was quickly ushered to bed quickly after dinner. How was she supposed to hold a Ball when she had no idea what to do? And when was the last time she danced a waltz or a ballroom dance? She snorted. She was probably fifteen. Ever since she left for high school, she didn't have any dance lessons. Maybe she needed some practice.

But not now. Now, all she wanted was to sleep.

Because a good long sleep is the best cure for anything. Even for an International Royal Ball.

An hour later, she woke up with a mean back ache. She opened her eyes and realized she had fallen asleep on the hard floor. She grunted as she tried to get up and sat up against the side of her bed. She pressed the palms of her hands on her eyes.

"What year is this?" she mumbled to herself.

Everything came rushing back to her. The Selection, the Ball, the Mongasian War.

She stood and realized it was soon time for dinner. But she had something to do first. She rang Samantha, her Lady's Maid, who came not two minutes later.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Can you please find Linus and send him here?"

"Of course." Samantha curtsied and went to look for the body guard, a knowing smirk on her face. She wondered what would happen during the Selection with him around. She was smart enough to know his schedule and to know that he was on a break at the moment. She went downstairs to the Servant's Hall, and he was there, smoking a cigarette and reading the _Daily Illéan_.

"Mr. Reagan?" Samantha said coming in.

He looked over his newspaper. "What?" he grumbled, his cigarette bobbing between his lips.

"Her Royal Highness is asking for you."

"Oh," he said, putting the paper down and putting out his cigarette. He took a gulp of water and popped a mint in his mouth before heading upstairs. There was a spring in his step and Samantha chuckled as she watched him practically run to the love of his life. She had guessed it since the day Princess Elisabeth came back with Linus.

The blond Security Detail knocked on Eliza's door and walked in when invited.

He smiled at the sight of her, bowing slightly. "What can I do for you, Your Highness?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't _Your Highness_ me, Linus." She chuckled and sighed. "Do you know how to dance?"

He raised an eyebrow, confused at the question.

"Waltz or Ballroom or whatever."

"Uh, a little? I'm a bit out of practice, but-"

"Excellent," she said, turning on some music with a small remote control in her hand. She curtsied to Linus, who bowed, and they stepped towards each other. He took her hand in hers, wrapped his arm around her waist as she put her second hand on his shoulder. And one-two-three, one-two-three, … If he could steal little moments like this with her, he would be happy. Keeping his blue eyes locked her beautiful green eyes, they danced around the room.

* * *

 _ **Heyyyy! Thank you SO MUCH for all your reviews and support on the previous chapter! There are still 1-2 spots left, so don't hesitate to reserve a spot**_ (still holding on to one per user...)

 _ **I hoped you liked this chapter and that your guys were introduced well ;) Those guys respectively belonged to** Easily Shookt Boy **,** Headless Gummy Bear **, and** Booklovin'03 **! Thanks for your great OC's!**_

 _ **Speaking of** Headless Gummy Bear **, you absolutely HAVE TO go check out her story! I mean, what better combination that The Selection, Pirates, and the 1700's? Go read it, because it's amazingly written, and the pirates vibes are all there! You can smell the rhum and feel the rocking of the ship. And submit an OC! it's going to be an amazing adventure ;)**_

 _ **I'm planning on at least one more chapter before Nov 1st! After that, I'll put this story on PAUSE and come back to it as soon as I'm done with my other project, on which I hope to write at least 90-100k. It'll probably keep me until mid-december, so please be patient. In the meantime, you can post stuff on Pinterest, PM me for anything you'd like to talk about**_ (TWIW related or not) _ **and continue working of your guys if you haven't sent in their forms yet. I can't wait to meet them all! =D**_

 _ **So, I'll see y'all for one more chapter! byeeee!**_

(*the poem is actually from Atticus...)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The silverware clinked on the china plates, filling the awkward silence around the dinner table. It was one of the last family dinners before the Selected arrived. And before the Ball.

"There is one problem," Eliza said to no one in particular. "About the Ball."

"Oh?" Queen Elinor replied. "And what is it?"

Eliza put her fork down. "There will be twenty-five of them, and only one of me. Two, if you count Millie, but she already has a partner."

"There is me," Andromeda said, an amused smile playing on her lips. The others all chuckled. "What? I am an excellent dancer."

"I know," Eliza said, returning the smile. "But you're maybe going to intimidate them."

"Intimidate them? No way."

"Don't worry about the Ball," Millie said. "Everything is taken care of. There will be enough dance partners for everyone."

"Besides," Andromeda added. "You only pick one and dance with him all night."

"What?" Eliza froze.

"I'm messing with you, darling." Andromeda chuckled lightly, and everyone followed. "No, but seriously, Elisabeth. Emilia is right. Let her deal with this Ball. All you willl have to do is show up, smile, and dance!" She sipped her wine. "Oh, and I am still counting on that red dress." She winked at her granddaughter, and Eliza sighed.

"Yes, grandmother. I'll wear a red dress."

The dessert dishes arrived in a choreography of black and white dressed servants. Eliza thought it was always too much, especially since there was just them. She could understand doing that to impress guests. But not when it was just them.

After dinner, she needed some air so she went outside, in the gardens. The dwindling days and hours until the Selection started were slowly making her dizzy. How was she going to deal with everything? She still had no idea.

"Hey, are you okay?" Millie asked, walking up from behind her.

Eliza turned around and offered her sister a weak smile. "I'm fine," she lied.

"No, you're not." Millie sighed and stood next to her. They watched the stars and the moon reflected on the small lake. How many times had they swum in the lake when they were kids? Too many to count. "I still can tell when you're lying, Liz."

Eliza sighed. She thought she had mastered it, by now. Apparently not. A sob bubbled up inside her and erupted. She quickly covered her mouth to smolder it, but it was too late. She had kept everything inside for so long, it was all coming out. And _now_ , of all times.

Millie sighed and looked at her older sister. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I thought it would help if someone took care of everything for the Ball. I didn't-"

"It's not that," Eliza cut her, rubbing her eyes and smudging her mascara. "I don't care about the Ball." Millie's shoulder's slumped. "Why does everything have to be so difficult? Why do I have to go through life on the hardest level?"

Millie let out a chuckle. "On the hardest level? Come on. You have more money than anyone, and you're a royal." She tried to keep her tone light.

Eliza shot her a look. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Millie replied softly. She let go of Eliza's shoulder and took her hand in hers. "But you're a badass Princess. You can do practically anything." Eliza let out a humorless snort. "And remember this: you majored in Political Science. Assume you'll always right."

At that, Eliza burst out laughing. Sad and happy tears streamed down her cheeks. She was glad to have Millie at her side.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Manila, Philippines, Oceanic Union. National Language: Tagalog._**

The Selection was imminent, but Jericho wanted to spend every last minute available in his favorite place. He wiggled his toes in the warm sand, memorizing the feeling for when he would be gone. He didn't even know how long he would be gone. But he had one mission given by the King, his grandfather: Make new friends, and new alliances. The Oceanic Union didn't have many alliances, save for the inter-countries wedding alliances with New Asia and the Russian Empire. He had work to do.

But for now, he wanted to enjoy a day at the beach. And even if Angeles was a coastal Province, he doubted there would be any beaches like the ones in the Philippines. He closed his eyes and also tried to memorize the sounds – waves, seagulls, the sand crushing under his weight – and the smells – algae, salt, palm trees – to take to Illéa with him.

Diego Vasquez, his shadow and personal Security Detail, stood a little to the side, trying to give Jericho his space, but still keeping an eye on him and others away. He wouldn't be coming with him to Illéa, since they had all been promised special security. And it would give Diego some free time.

Jericho looked down at his book and continued reading.

"Sir?" Vasquez came over to the prince later on. "It's time to go back to the Palace."

Jericho looked at his watch. "Yeah. I didn't see the time." He chuckled and put his book away. He took his shoes in his hands and both men walked back to the car parked on the side of the road.

As soon as he arrived at the Palace, he went directly to his room. His valet was finishing packing the Prince's suitcase, with some change of shorts and t-shirts, seven pairs of sunglasses, and of course, his violin. He was not going there without it. Not a chance.

"Are you excited, Your Highness?" his valet, Tom, said.

"Not really, no," Jericho replied. "But can't say no to the King, now can I?"

Tom chuckled. "I guess not." He smiled and handed him a jar full of white sand. "I though you might want to take this, too? Sand from our finest beach."

Jericho grinned and took the jar. "Thank you, Tom. I'm definitely taking it." He put it in the suitcase next to his Barong, the traditional formal shirt of his country.

"You ready for the Selection, Ate?" Donna asked, coming into his room. The fifteen-year-old Princess sat on his bed, next to his open suitcase. She grinned. "It's going to be so romantic!"

"No, it's not," Jericho smiled. "It's like a giant, human sized chess game with humans."

Princess Donatella laughed. "Okay. Seen that way, it's not romantic. At all. Which one are you, though?"

"What?"

"What chess piece?"

"Oh, uh. I don't know. But what you have to ask yourself is, _who are the players?_ Because the way I see it, we're all chess pieces. Even the tower and the queen, are."

Dona raised a curious eyebrow. "Then who are the players?"

"I'll try to figure that out while I'm there."

-x-x-x-

 ** _Château d'Amboise, Orléans, New France._** ** _National Language: French._**

Prince Caspian Philippe de Sauveterre, youngest brother to the current King of New France, Gaspard de Sauveterre, was still focused on his latest designs, based on some of Leonardo da Vinci's own Renaissance design. The Italian Master was Caspian's inspiration and ultimate virtual role model. He even lived in the da Vinci Castle, the Château d'Amboise. He had moved there to find some independence. The Royal Estate, the Château de Chambord, near Orléans, was too full of people. He needed space, silence, and the Master's inspiration.

"Your suitcase is ready, Sir," one of his servants said, coming into his office after a light knock.

"Thanks," he said. "I just need to finish this. I'll be right there."

 _I'll be right there_ turned out to be four hours later, when it was time for supper, and his belly was growling. He made a quick detour by his room to make sure everything was in his suitcase before going down to the dining room. He quickly added his pack of cards. His tablet was already in it. His whole life was on his tablet. If he lost it, it would be the end of him. He had already lost – was it stolen? – some very precious documents and a prototype, and he did not want to go through that again.

He headed in the gardens, where he usually took his meals, and sat – alone – at the table set for him. He ate without even really tasting the food, his mind focused on an article he was reading on his phone. Until the cheese platter arrived, and he enjoyed every piece of it. He would miss the cheese, most.

Then he thought about the Selection, and tried to remember why he was going, again. Right. He was the only unmarried prince of New France, and his brother wanted to restore their alliance with Illéa, which wasn't on the best terms, at the moment. And his sister Annabelle thought it would be a good thing to help him forget about Chloé.

Chloé. The bitch who cheated on him and ended up marrying his brother just to be a Princess. It still hurt to think about her. Maybe Anabelle was right. Maybe it would help him forget about her, especially if he found love in Illéa.

The next morning, after a restless night, he put on a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt and headed outside to the barn. First, he went to the horses and filled their mangers with fresh hay, and also give them all an apple. He hoped the Illéan Palace also had horses.

Then, he went to see the chickens. He gave them grain he scattered around the dirt ground, and the hens half-flew from their perches to eat their breakfast. While their nests were unsupervised, he took their eggs and carefully piled them in a basket.

Cocotte, his favorite hen – who lacked in smarts – was mistaking a small pile of rocks for her breakfast. Caspian chuckled.

"Cocotte, what are you doing?" he said, taking the hen on his lap, sitting down on the dirt. "Here, eat this." He held a handful of grain in the palm of his hand. Cocotte ate greedily, picking at his fingers. "This is the last morning you'll see me in a while," he said, gently stroking the hen's soft feathers. "But I'll be back, don't worry."

Cocotte looked up with a blank stare, and went back to eating.

"I'm going to miss you, _ma petite poulette_."

Cocotte cackled and continued eating. Caspian shook his head, chuckled, and sighed.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Santiago, Southern American United States (aka S.A.U.S.). National Language: Spanish._**

Quinlan Ezra King landed the last punch which knocked out his opponent, and gave him victory. The crowd jumped to its feet and cheered as the referee counted to ten, making sure Quin was victorious. He was. Two security details escorted him back to the changing room. He needed to hurry up. His mother, Queen Lavina, was going to be home soon, and he better be there before she arrived. If she knew what he was doing in secret, she would ground him forever. He quickly took a shower, and checked himself in the mirror.

"Shit," he mumbled. He had a bruise on his jaw. Hopefully he could find her sister's maid to conceal it with makeup. And he would have to hide it for the beginning of the Selection, too.

Ugh, that damned Selection. If only he wasn't this arrogant and prideful. Prince Tyronne, his brother, told him he could never win the Selection, anyway, so Quin volunteered for his country. He said he would win.

His father accepted, and the Queen said it would be good for him, and that it would maybe make him work on his arrogant and rebellious phase, knowing that he was going to deal with one of the greatest powers in the world. When Quin realized the implications of his volunteering, he wasn't as enthusiastic anymore. Especially with the Mongasian War taking place in the background.

Besides, how does one woo a Princess? He never had a girlfriend before, and never was interested in having one. All he wanted to do was boxing – which was strongly forbidden by the Queen – and swimming. He didn't even do anything for his country. His brother and sister did enough, and he was happy to just do his own thing.

He quickly put his shiny suit on and climbed in the car. He arrived at the Santiago Palace just five minutes before his mother, with barely enough time for the maid to conceal his bruise. He sat on his couch, propped his feet on the coffee table and turned on the TV. Two minutes later, his mother popped her head in his room.

"Quin, everything okay?"

"Yeah, mom," he said, looking at the soccer game going on on the screen.

"Where were you?" she asked, joining him on the couch. "I saw your driver come out of the hangar as I came in."

He chuckled. "I just went for a run," he said, "and I just took a shower." He ran his hand over his still wet hair. "See?"

Queen Lavina smiled. "I think it's a great idea to get in shape before going to Illéa."

Quin rolled his eyes. "I'm already fit."

"I know," she replied. "But it never hurts to do some extra exercise." She frowned, seeing the darker spot on his jaw. Quin quickly turned his head and focused on the soccer game, again.

"What's that?" she asked, turning his head so he was eye-level with her again.

"Nothing," he said. "Can I watch the game, please?"

She let go of his chin and sighed. "Fine. Remember tonight's your last evening with us. You leave in the morning."

Quin sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"Okay," Queen Lavina said awkwardly. She looked at her son for a few more seconds, trying to debate if he was lying or not about the mark on his jaw. Eventually, she let the matter drop and went to clean up. She would definitely miss him when he would go to Illéa. And she hoped against all hope that he wouldn't screw it up. But she had faith in her education: he was a proper gentleman, if a little too confident and arrogant. But he was a good man. That she was sure of it.

-x-x-x-

The Selected's rooms, the Ballroom, the new Men's room – with a foosball table, a pool table, bookshelves, and a grand Steinway piano – were finally ready. There were no more maids and footmen toing and froing at all time of the day and the night. The Palace was finally ready, with added Security, some translators, and more valets, one for each guest.

Everything was set.

But was Eliza ready?

Not really. This was the last _free_ evening before her whole personal life was put into the spotlight. She had run away from that for so long, and now she got it all back, like a huge punch in the guts. She understood why her parents were forcing her into this Selection, but couldn't they have waited a little? Or at least given her some more heads-up? At least she could have prepared for it.

It was like learning how to swim when you're a young child, and then you almost drown and stop going near or into the water. Then, fifteen years later, you're rushed to the side of the pool without any preamble, and pushed into the water. Only, you don't know how to swim anymore. You're scared. You suffocate. You swallow water, and you think you're going to die.

Only you don't.

Because the water is shallow and you touch the bottom with your feet. And you realize that you could the whole time. And feel stupid.

That was exactly how Eliza felt at the moment. Only she was still struggling to breathe and try to swim. She hadn't touched the bottom yet. Maybe this was deeper water? She would only know the moment she found her foothold again.

She lay in her bed, staring at the canopy above her, in the dark. She couldn't close her eyes. She knew if she did, tomorrow would come sooner, and at the moment, she didn't want to deal with that. Not yet. Her hands were clammy, and her breaths short. She tried taking slower breaths, but it didn't work. Her heartbeat raced faster and faster.

But it was the middle of the night. Who could she call? If she was in Waverly, she would go in the kitchen to get a soothing glass of water or something and Linus would hear her and see if everything was okay. But here? Everyone was sleeping. The Palace was dark and eerie, and the only people up would be some on-duty guards. Creepily waiting in the dark.

Eliza shivered. No. She was on her own, now. She kicked the covers of her bed, slipped on a robe and her slippers, and tiptoed out of her room, ignoring the guards. She held her head high, as if she knew what she was doing, heading downstairs to the kitchens. She would get something to drink even if there was no one to ask her if she was okay.

The kitchens were dark. _Good_ , she thought. _I'm alone_.

She opened the fridge and took out a carton of milk, poured some in a mug and heated it in the microwave.

"Can't sleep?" a familiar female voice asked.

Eliza jumped and turned around, only now making out a silhouette in the dark. "Grandmother?"

Andromeda smiled. "Yes. At my age, sleeping is a luxury in its own."

"Well, you scared me."

The older Lady chuckled lightly. "Sorry. What is keeping you up, darling?"

The microwave beeped and Eliza carefully took out the mug and sat next to her dear grandmother. "Everything," she said. "I feel like I'm going to screw up everything. I'm just not ready, you know?"

"Of course, you are," Andromeda said. "You just need to _decide_ that you are ready. And then you will own it."

Eliza chuckled. "How does one decide such a thing? You're never ready for a life-changing event. Routine and privacy are two things I came to adore in the past few years."

"I know, darling. But it was only borrowed time, I'm afraid. Now you have to step in your Cinderella shoes. And be the Princess you were always meant to be."

"But Cinderella had _Princess_ borrowed time. I had _real life_ borrowed time."

Andromeda chuckled and sipped her herbal tea. "You're a reverse Cinderella, darling. This is your real life."

Eliza was silent, sipping her warm milk. None of the women talked for some time, just enjoying each other's presence in the unlit kitchen.

"I missed you, you know?" Andromeda said, breaking the silence. "Not having you around was sad. You always lit up my days."

"I missed you to," Eliza replied, putting her head on her grandmother's shoulder. "I'm glad you were down here."

"Me too."

And just like that, Eliza realized she had touched the bottom of the pool, and she could actually swim. She was ready.

"I'm glad I'm going to have you by my side during this Selection. I don't think I can do this alone."

"My door will always be open, even in the middle of the night." Andromeda kissed Eliza's forehead, and rested her cheek against her granddaughter's warm hair.

* * *

 _ **Hellooo! first of all, I want to thank you all so much for all your reviews! I'm so happy to read them and see what you guys think about this story^^ And thank you for all the amazing pins on Pinterest! I really like to have visuals, and I know it's always fun to meet each other's characters other than in the written story! ;)**_ (Those who reserved a spot and whom I haven't invited yet on Pinterest, please follow the board so I can invite you on it!)

 _ **This will be the last chapter before the NaNoWriMo hiatus. Thank you all for following the first 5 chapters! I promise, more will come, and the first chapter after the hiatus will start with the Ball! So if you can get to it, please post your guy's Ball Outfit on Pinterest!**_ (Before Nov 30)

 _ **While on Hiatus, I'll still be here, so you can PM me for anything, and I'll always reply asap! For those who haven't send in their characters, yet, you have until**_ **November 30th 2018** _ **. But if you have him finished before then, don't hesitate to send him in ;) I'll be glad to still keep on eye on this story!**_

 _ **Anyway. Enough babbling. See you in a few weeks! :D byeeee**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

On the morning of the Ball, Eliza woke up with a start, sweating and breathless. Clearly, she had had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember what it was. It had been a restless night, that was for sure. And she did not want to tackle the day. The Selected had arrived during the night and more would come later during the morning, but she was, under no circumstances, to see them before the Ball.

Thank goodness.

She pulled the covers higher to her chin and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep again. Which turned out useless, since Samantha came in not fifteen minutes later with her breakfast tray. She opened the curtains of her ceiling-high windows, blinding the princess in the process. Eliza grumbled something.

"What was that, Your Highness?" she asked.

"Five more minutes."

"Oh. Well, maybe three, then," she added smiling. "Your sister will be here in a little while."

"Millie?" Eliza frowned. "Why would she come?"

Sam smirked. "I don't know." She lied.

Eliza stayed three more minutes in bed, and then kicked her covers away. She wrapped herself in a fuzzy robe and sat at the table. But to be honest, she wasn't really hungry. She pushed the fruit cubes around in the bowl, and nibbled on the pancakes, even though they were her favorite. She sighed and looked out the window, where she saw a limo coming in the courtyard. She stood and looked as a footman opened the door of the fancy car and three boys came out.

She squinted her eyes to see, but they were too far.

Samantha took out a paper from her apron. "I believe these are some of the European Selected. The men from the Greek Kingdom, the United Kingdoms of Ireland and the Kingdom of Spain were scheduled to arrive together from the Angeles International airport."

Eliza nodded and searched in her brain for the files she had tried to memorize. "Prince Alexander, Prince Cian, and Prince Latreall, right?"

Samantha chuckled. "Yes, that's right."

"By the way," Eliza said, sitting back down. "There are two Alexander's in this Selection. I'll have to find something to differentiate them…"

Samantha looked at her paper. "Ah, yes," she said slowly looking for the names. "But they're not written the same. Look." She handed the paper and Eliza noticed only now that one was written _Aleksander_ , and the other _Alexander_.

"Well that's helpful," she said sarcastically.

"Good morning!" Millie called out, coming in uninvited and unannounced. "How did you sleep?"

Eliza sent her a glare. "How do you think I slept?"

"Well, I'm glad," Millie continued, ignoring her sister's comment. "Because I have the day planned out for you."

"Oh, come on, Millie," Eliza said. "I don't want to do anything today. I'm not supposed-"

"To meet the guys, I know! But you won't until tonight, I promise." She looked at the practically unfinished breakfast plate. "You ready?" she asked lightly.

"No. I have to get dressed."

"No, you don't! That's the best part of today: You get to stay in your pajamas until you put your gown."

Eliza raised a curious eyebrow. "Now that's something I can do." She stood. "Where are we going?"

"Follow me." Millie beamed and headed out of the room and down the hall, with Eliza following in her fuzzy robe and soft slippers. She didn't even have the time to take a shower, she realized.

"Come on!" Millie said, grinning, urging her sister to hurry up, already.

Millie then pushed the doors to a guest room on the third floor, one usually used for family visiting. It had been turned into a whole beauty salon with super good smells coming from the bathroom. That's where Millie went, and Eliza followed her. A bubble bath was ready and waiting for Eliza, with rose petals floating in the bubbles.

"I'll come back in an hour," Millie said. "There's music, coffee, candles, a couple books, a bath pillow… just relax, okay?"

Eliza smiled for the first time that day. Maybe even in a few days. "Thanks, Mil," Eliza said.

"Oh, don't thank me yet." She waved the idea away.

Eliza chuckled as Millie closed the door and left her alone. She took off her clothes and stepped into the warm water, just the perfect temperature. Before getting her hands wet, she turned on the music and the lit some candles. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, decreasing the tension in her muscles and bones one after the other. She even dozed off for a little while, but woke up with a start, splashing around.

She sighed shakily. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her bones. But she didn't know what. She held her breath and slid under the water, feeling the warmth of the bath embrace her whole. She pushed herself out and washed her hair. She had no idea how much time had passed, but feeling that the water was cooler than before, it had been a while. She stepped out and draped herself in a plush white towel and also wrapped her hair in one.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, a familiar brown-haired young woman was sitting on a chair, scrolling on her phone.

She looked up. "Your Highness," she said, again with a bubble-gum in her mouth.

"You?" Eliza said, recognizing the beautician from a couple weeks ago. "What are you doing here? I thought you said in four weeks. It's been only to." She held her arms around her, feeling very naked under the towel.

"I know, right?" Kora said. "But your sister called me, and here I am." Since Eliza didn't say anything, Kora continued. "I'm also a masseuse, and I'm here for that, today."

"Oh," Eliza said.

"Yeah, apparently, you're having the whole spa day, and I'll be taking care of you." She scoffed, and Eliza did the same.

"Fine. Can I just go put on some clothes?"

"No. It's better like this." She invited the Princess to lay down on her back on the massage table. She covered her with an electric blanket so she wouldn't get cold. "Close your eyes and try to relax, okay?" she popped her bubble-gum and undid the towel around her hair. She untangled her wet red hair with a surprising gentleness and then started massaging the Princess's face and scalp, in slow circled. Clearly, the girl knew what she was doing and Eliza actually relaxed under her expert hands. At some point, she asked the princess to turn around and to lay on her stomach, and Kora started working on her back. There were a lot of knots in her muscles, and the tension wouldn't come out.

"Are you okay?" Kora asked in a soft tone, concern filling her voice.

This actually surprised Eliza. "Uh, yeah."

Kora didn't push it. If the Princess wanted to talk, she'd talk. If not, it was up to her.

Eliza let Kora massage her sore muscles. "Thanks, by the way," Eliza suddenly said, out of the blue. "I guess I really needed this."

"You can thank your sister. She was the one to come up with the idea in the first place." She paused. "But you're welcome."

"Have you ever dated anyone?" Eliza asked, and the girl chuckled.

"Plenty. Just not all at the same time, though," she added, which made Eliza chuckled.

"I guess no one does that."

"Especially not with such a big outcome at the end," Kora said. Eliza didn't reply anything. What was there to say, anyway? "You know, my brother waited all his life for your Selection," Kora said. "He's practically the same age as you, and he's been wanting to put his name in."

Again, Eliza didn't say anything. "I'm sorry," she finally mumbled.

"It's not your fault. I tried telling him that."

"And? Did he believe you?"

"Kind of." She chuckled. "But clearly you didn't ask for this."

"Tell me about it," Eliza scoffed. "It was a hot potato my parents threw at me. I wonder how long they've been planning this, to be honest."

Kora was silent for a moment, focusing on relaxing a particularly tense muscle in Eliza's shoulder. The Princess winced a little, but she knew it was for the best.

"And what do you think about it?" Kora asked. "I mean, dating foreign princes, and giving Illéa a foreign King?"

"Just to be clear," she said. "What is said in here stays in here."

"Sure. They made me sign a confidential paper or something."

"Good." She sighed. "I'm not very fond of the idea. I mixed up with so many regular people during my time in high school and college, I really hoped I could continue doing that."

The two young women, against all odds, talked for the rest of the morning. Kora applied a mask on Eliza's face while she did her nails, and they chatted of random girl stuff. Eliza was surprised to find something resembling a friend in the most unlikely person. And she actually looked forward to seeing her two weeks later for the waxing part. Even if this wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world.

Millie had organized a chocolate fondue with fruits and Champagne for lunch while watching the girliest movie in the universe, _Mean Girls_. Until it was time to get ready for the Ball. Eliza's muscles were relaxed, but the knot in her belly was growing bigger and bigger.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _International Airport, Illéa. National Language: English._**

It was almost eight o'clock in the morning when Prince Alexander Paul Aloupi walked down the steps of his private Jet, a Royal Greek Airline steward following behind with his bag. He was wearing a three-piece suit he had put on just before landing. Going to the Illéan Palace in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt was not the best idea. But it was the most comfortable for traveling. A man in a black suit was waiting for him near a limo on the tarmac, and he directly climbed into the vehicle.

Only when he was inside did he notice two other men. He nodded to them, recognizing them from the files his father had given him on the other Selected. Because his primary goal was to establish a trade agreement and an Alliance with Illéa, and the others were important players in the game, he had to know who he was up against.

One of them was Prince Cian Rearden Cavey of the United Kingdoms of Ireland. He had never set foot there, but he recognized the Prince from the picture. And the other one was the Spanish prince, Prince Latreall Carlito Santana.

The man who welcomed him outside the car stepped in and the engine roared to life, driving them out of the airport and through the city of Los Angeles. None of the three Princes had already set foot in Illéa, let alone in Angeles. The view was new to all three of them, and they looked out the windows the whole way, not exchanging a word. Then the limo drove through a dense forest, up a hill, and in a clearing where the Illéan Palace came into view shortly after. They were all used to mansions and Palaces, but this was something different. It was white, with hundreds of windows, towers here and there, with gray tiled roofs, and manicured gardens all around.

"Wow," Prince Alexander said, and the others nodded their approval of the chosen word.

The limo stopped in front of the Grand Entrance, a whole group of servants lined on both sides, and the King and Queen on the top of the stairs, waiting for the young men to climb to them. It was their way of showing the Selected that were here as guests, and that the Illéan Monarchy was the Ruling Head, here. They got the message, alright, and climbed the stairs, bowing once they were at the top.

"Welcome to Illéa," Queen Elinor said, motioning for the boys to stand up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Prince Cian said with a thick Irish accent

"Thank you, Queen Elinor," Latreall said in perfect English, with a slight Spanish ring to it. "It's a pleasure to be here."

"Thank you," Alexander said, not wanting to say something wrong in English, so he kept it at that.

Queen Elinor smiled. "It's a pleasure having you here. Please come in. You will each be given a valet and a translator. If you decide you don't need one," she looked at Prince Cian, "then just simply say so, and we won't bother you with one."

"Thank you," Cian said.

They followed them inside and, just as she had said, three valets were waiting for them near the stair. Each one took a bag and guided them upstairs to the second floor, where their rooms awaited. Each Selected had the same room, at least in the same colors and fabrics, if not in the same layout: bathroom, bedroom, sitting room, and a small walk-in closet. The Greek Prince, Alexander, chuckled. Was this Palace so big that twenty-five guests could have their own set of rooms?

He found a note on his pillow.

 _Dear Prince Alexander,_

 _Welcome to Princess Elisabeth's Selection!_

 _You will be meeting her tonight, at a formal Ball. Please be there at 7 p.m., formal wear._

 _We hope your stay will be pleasant, and if you need anything, ask our servants, or Henri Johnson, our Palace Manager, and Royal Planner, they'll be happy to help._

 _K. Oliver and Q. Elinor._

Alexander chuckled. This was really going to be a weird experience.

Once he was all settled in, his valet offered him some tea, which he declined, and told him that the Selected that had already arrived were in the Men's Parlor and that he could show him the way if he wanted to go there, which Alexander accepted. So he followed the man downstairs and stepped into the Men's Parlor. Several Selected were already there, some dozing off on a couch, thanks to jetlag. Come to think of it, he was starting to feel it, too. He stifled a yawn and went to the liquor table and poured himself a drop of whiskey.

"Hello, Xander," a voice said from the left, holding out an empty glass.

Alexander looked up to see Yao Jinhai. He recognized him because their countries had a trade agreement, and he had met him once or twice during the diplomatic meetings. He poured whiskey in his glass. "Already here, Jinhai?" he asked in his broken English.

"Yes, I came late last night," he replied. "I thought the hour difference would be too much if I came this morning." His English was good, but still a little broken, with a Mongolian accent.

Xander chuckled. "True." He looked around. "People are already sleeping."

Jinhai chuckled, too. "The Ball tonight is going to be so much fun with people yawning and fighting sleep."

Both men laughed, startling others from their dozing-off.

"Great idea," Cian said, coming over the liquor table. "It'll help me stay awake." He poured himself a glass of whiskey, too. He drank it in one gulp. "First time in Illéa?" he asked the two others, and they nodded.

Most of the boys ignored them, trying to catch a few minutes of sleep here and there. Other were fully awake and talking animatedly with each other, like the French prince with the Belgium and the Italian ones. The Europeans were the loudest. But that wasn't a surprise.

 **-x-x-x-**

Eliza stood in her gigantic walk-in closet with Andromeda and her Lady's maid, Sam.

"You're still wearing that red gown, right?" her grandmother asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Not that particular one," Eliza said. "It's strapless, and if I'm going to dance all evening, I need something that I'm sure won't fall off."

Andromeda chuckled. "Good thinking, Elisabeth."

"I was thinking more along the lines of this one," she said, pulling out a bright red gown from the rack of red gowns. It had a full skirt and a lacey top – sleeves and all – that send a different message: _I'm confident enough to wear this see-through dress to meet the Princes of the world_. Eliza shivered at the thought.

"Excellent choice," Andromeda said.

Sam helped her change into it, and Andromeda asked her granddaughter if she could do her hair, to which Eliza accepted gratefully. Andromeda did a simple but elegant updo, on which she placed a diamond and ruby tiara, to match the dress, with matching earrings.

Then Sam gave her a pair of black pumps.

"Can't I wear flats?" Eliza asked, making a face.

"Of course, not," her grandmother said. "You wear heals under a gown."

"But no one's gonna see them, anyway. And they're gonna kill me before the end of the evening."

"First of all," Andromeda said, "you don't say _gonna_ , you say _going to_. Second, flats are out of the question for a Ball. Nor for any public and formal event."

"But-"

"No buts, Eliza." Andromeda smiled and urged her to put the shoes on. She needed to get going or she would be late.

* * *

 _ **Hiiiiii guys!**_

 _ **I just HAD to write a chapter for TWIW... I was missing this story so much, and I wanted to get back with Eliza, Millie and some guys I hadn't introduced yet. I didn't want to wait another 10 days to get back to this story... so here you go! I hope you enjoyed this little introductory chapter to the Ball!**_

 _ **Speaking of the Ball, don't forget to pick an outfit for your guy! ;) just pin it on your Section on Pinterest.** (I can't write the Ball without all the characters and their outfits, so please get them in by November 30! thanks!)_

 _ **And if you didn't copy the form from my profile before I took it off, just PM me, and I'll send it to you!**_

 _ **I've written 36k words on Nano, and I'm not even at the half of the story. Haha...**_

 _ **Anyway, I hope this little chapter will make it up to you for the long November Hiatus... see you soon!** (and please don't forget to leave a review^^)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Ballroom was buzzing with activity and guests chatting while waiting for the Royal family to come in. Eliza kept wiping her hands on her dress, nervousness moistening her hands.

"Can I wear gloves?" she asked Millie.

"Of course, not. You're wearing long sleeves." Millie made sure Eliza's dress was perfectly spread around her sister's frame.

Eliza sighed nervously, wringing her hands together.

"Hey," Millie said softly. "I love you and everything will be okay. You have nice hair, and things generally work out for people with nice hair."

Eliza chuckled.

"There, I wanted to hear that." She took Eliza's hand. "It's going to be fine."

"Can you go through the whole thing again?"

"Yes," Millie said, trying not to show her annoyance. _I would have been way better at this_ , she thought bitterly. "Mom and dad go first, followed by grandmother, and then me with Alaric, and then you." She paused. "Once you're ready on the small stage, standing in front of the thrones, and facing the crowd, the Selected are announced one by one, and they come to you."

"What do I tell them?"

"Uh, hello? Or just smile and nod."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Okay, I can do that."

"Yes, you can."

Just then, the others arrived. Alaric wrapped his arm around Millie's waist pulling her to his side and placing a kiss on her forehead. He was quite elegant in a black and beige tuxedo. And Eliza felt a tiny bit jealous about them, but just for a second. Then the whole reality of the Ball hit her again.

"Are you ready, Elisabeth?" Queen Elinor asked, lightly squeezing her daughter's arm.

"No, but are we ever?" she asked, and her father chuckled.

"It's going to be fine," Andromeda said. "You look gorgeous, and if they don't fall at your feet because of it, then I don't know what else to do."

"What if I'm the one to fall? What if I spring my ankle or trip on my dress?" she asked, anxious.

"Then make sure to do so near one of the Selected," Andromeda said with what could be considered a sly grin. "If you fall, they'll catch you."

Eliza chuckled nervously.

Out of all the women in her family, she was the only one wearing a bright and bold color. The Queen was wearing a black sleeveless gown with embroidery on the skirt and a Sabrina collar. Andromeda was wearing an elegant short sleeve gray flowing dress, and Millie a midnight blue strapless gown. Eliza was the only one in red. Of course.

The butler motioned to the King and Queen and announced them to the guests. They walked regally to their thrones. Then he announced the Queen Mother, and then Millie and the Duke. Eliza took a deep breath and waited for her name to be called.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth Regina Odelle Schreave," the butler said. The whole room went silent as she walked down the large stone steps to the Ballroom. She could hear her heart drumming fast in her chest, and it resonated in her ears. Would she even hear the Selected being announced? She put a smile on her face, old instincts kicking in, and surveyed the room for some familiar faces.

There were lots of people, mostly Two's and ambassadors, and lots she didn't recognize. But Millie was right: there were a lot of women.

There was also a camera crew with Ruby Wright holding a mike and whispering in it. She couldn't hear what she was saying. But what the Hell was she doing here? She was the Report Host, not the local football team commentator. She made a mental note to ask Millie – or anyone else – about this.

Then just as she was in the middle of the room, her gaze fell on Linus, and she relaxed a little. He offered her an encouraging smile and she took courage from it. She climbed the steps leading to where her parents and grandmother were seated and turned around, facing the crowd.

So many eyes looked at her expectantly, waiting. But she wasn't instructed to say something, so she didn't. Besides, she wouldn't even know what to say.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Rafe Caius Monteverde, from The South African Nation," the butler called out as a young man in an embroidered suit with a black and gold tie walked in like he didn't have a care in the world. He walked straight to Eliza, boring his gaze in hers, and climbed the steps to her, and as instructed, stopped on the second to last step.

Eliza offered him her hand, he took it almost reverently – although Eliza felt it was all an act – and kissed her hand.

"Good evening, Your Royal Highness," he said with a slight accent Eliza couldn't quite place.

"Good evening," Eliza replied, forcing a smile.

Prince Rafe stepped down backward and stood on the side. He was the first one, and thus had a lot of waiting to do. But so did she, so she didn't really sympathize.

"His Royal Highness, Tsarevich Nikolai Pavlovich, From the Russian Empire."

A young man walked in in a three-piece navy suit and discreet silver crown, but what struck Eliza most was how pale he was. Almost paler than her. _As pale as the snowy lands of his country_ , she mused. He walked head high, seeming to be used to entering formal events like this. He kept his eyes on his target – the young woman in the bold red dress – and marched towards her. He did the same as the previous one, walked up the steps, kissed Eliza's hand, and stood to the side.

"Lieutenant Raphael Jan Shulz, from Switzerland." A young man with dark brown hair came in his official military charcoal gray uniform with three medals on his chest and a forest green beret _._ He walked straight to her, not looking elsewhere in the room. Eliza was a bit startled at how he stood out in this military outfit and was surprised at how she liked it. She was used to seeing the Royal Guard around the Illéan Palace, but this Swiss Military uniform was new and quite nice to look at, she realized. And those boots!

But before she knew it, he was in front of her, waiting. She gave him her hand, and he kissed it, like the others.

She couldn't help herself when she said, "It's a nice change from the other Royals."

Raphael smirked, nodded, tried not to chuckled, and backed away to the side, joining the others _Royals_.

"His Royal Highness, the Duke of Rome, Prince Cassius Julian Vanderbuilt."

A young man in a plain black and white tuxedo walked down the stair steps. As he approached, she noticed his dark brown eyes, almost the color of chocolate, and how his jaw was like cut in stone. He followed the same pattern as the previous ones, and Eliza counted already four. Twenty-one more to go.

And on and on it went. Some felt like background characters, and others were like blank pages, in her mind. She couldn't find the information, although she had memorized it.

Her feet were already killing her, so she decided to take one shoe off at a time, and roll her ankle and stretch her toes. Nobody would notice under her huge skirt, anyway. She noticed some of the Selected stifling yawns, and almost chuckled. Of course, most of them were horribly jetlagged. Poor guys.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Aleksander Yves Demetri Narssonof Swendway."

A brown-haired man with a well-trimmed five-day beard – at least – walked down the stairs. He was wearing a forest green three-piece suit with golden embroideries on his vest. He walked up the steps and kissed Eliza's hand, just like the others.

"It's an honor to be here, Your Highness," he said, to which Eliza responded with a nod and a smile.

Prince Aleksander joined the others waiting on the side. She mentally counted he was the eighteenth Selected to come in.

Seven more. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly as the next one was called.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Yao Jinhaiof the Mongolian Empire."

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as a young man – though the oldest of the Selected, at almost twenty-seven years old – walked down the stairs in an all-black outfit, his ash-blond hair a blunt contrast to his clothes. Eliza was sure the media would keep an eye on him and the New Asian Prince – who was yet to be announced – during the Selection, with both their countries the major actors in the Mongasian War.

He walked up to her, a man walking next to him, probably his translator, carrying a blue piece of fabric. Prince Yao Jinhai climbed the steps and took the blue scarf from his translator and held it palm upward and arms outstretched for Eliza.

She had no idea what to do at the moment, and Linus quickly stepped up behind to her.

"Receive it in the same way he gives it to you," he whispered and stepped back.

So she obeyed, opening her arms palms up. The Mongolian Prince laid the blue silk Khadag in her hands. He then lightly grabbed her forearms and leaned in, air-kissing both her cheeks. She mimicked him all the way, and Jinhai seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"Thank you," Eliza said with a smile. "It's beautiful."

Jinhai smiled, satisfied with their first encounter, and joined the others.

She didn't know how long she was supposed to hold on to the gift, and if she would offend him if she gave it to someone to safe keep for her until the end of the evening. The next Selected was called, so she gave the Khadag to Linus, out of any other option, because he seemed to know about this custom.

"His Royal Highness Prince Sebastian Alexander Johan Frederick van Helms, of the Kingdom of Belgium."

 _And I thought I had a mouthful of a name,_ Eliza thought as she watched the man in a simple three-piece gray suit. He had blond hair perfectly styled with gel, a square jaw, and Eliza noticed how quite tall he was. She would have to look up, even in her heels. His blue-eyed gaze bore into hers and she was happy when he finally stepped down and stood to the side with the others.

During the next five Selected that were called, she focused mainly on stretching her toes, and at some point, one of her shoes fell, and she had trouble finding it blindly with her foot under her skirt. So she really did not remember meeting those guys. Until she finally was able to retrieve her shoe and slip her foot in it. _Good. No one noticed_ , she thought.

The last guy was called, and she tried extra hard not to show that she was relieved about that.

"His Royal Highness, Archduke Spencer Chapman of Melbourne, New Australia."

A man with blond hair and emerald green eyes walked up the steps to meet Eliza. He was all grace and elegance, and Eliza fought off a blush. She smiled as he kissed her hand. And he was the last one.

 _Finally,_ she thought, the moment he stepped down and joined the others. _Can I go sit down now?_ She looked around, searching for Millie, who was there, coming over.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," she said. "Now that we have all met the Selected, it is time For Eliza to open the dancefloor with one of the Selected." She looked at Eliza with a grin, but the Crown Princess become pale. Damnit. She needed to dance, now? Who should she pick? Does she have a list? Does she choose randomly? Panic rose inside her, and she fought the urge to run away. She couldn't do that, anyway, her toes were hurting too much.

So she forced out a smile and did the stupidest thing she could think of. She chose the Prince from the smallest country in the world! Monaco, of course. He was also the youngest in the Selection, barely twenty years old. A baby, compared to her. Seeing where he was standing, she noticed he had been announced in the last ones when she wasn't paying attention because of her shoe. But she had noticed some kind of black cape flowing after him, and his all-black suit. It reminded him of Count Dracula. She chuckled.

"Your Royal Highness," she said, with a smirk. "Would you honor me with the first dance?"

"Of course," he replied, bowing. "It would be an honor." He offered her a smile, and they went to the center of the room. The music started and he led the dance. It was customary to dance holding each other's gaze, and she found it wasn't that hard to look into his blue-gray eyes.

"Prince Adrien," she said, trying to make a little conversation. "I hope you're not too jetlagged."

He chuckled. "A little. But I don't mind."

"Oh? Aren't you completely exhausted? I know I would be."

"May I ask you something?" he said instead of answering her question. She nodded, so he continued. "Why me? For the first dance, I mean."

"Well," she said, steeling herself, "I'll have you know that I have a large time bomb in my hands, dealing with all those countries. You were the safest bet, especially with all those people watching."

"I figured," he said, genuine sympathy in his voice. "I wouldn't want to be in your place, Your Highness."

"Thank you," she said sarcastically.

They danced in a comfortable silence until the music stopped and they parted, bowing and curtsying to each other. Other couples also parted, and she just now realized that everyone had joined in while they were dancing.

"Your Royal Highness?" a male voice with a very posh British accent said behind her. Prince Adrien Laurent Francis Duboisbowed and left. She turned around and found herself face to face with a new suitor. _From New England_ , she thought, rummaging through the files in her mind.

"Lord Tomlin," she said, finally finding his name.

"May I have this dance?" He was smiling sweetly, and Eliza felt drawn to him.

"Of course," she said, even though her toes were screaming for a break. They set into position and followed the music. This was only the second dance. Did she really have to dance with all of them? Like for real?

She had no idea what to speak about and was more than ever focusing on not tripping, stepping on his feet, or twisting her ankle. Or maybe she should. Wasn't that what her grandmother had said? To fall in someone's arms if she had to? No, but this was way too early in the evening to do that.

She discreetly looked around to find Andromeda and chuckled lightly when she saw her dancing with the Prince of the Greek Kingdom.

"What's funny?" Lord Tomlin said, trying not to laugh at Eliza's cute smirk.

"My grandmother," she said. "She still looks so young, dancing with one of the Selected."

Tomlin elegantly switched their positions on the dance floor so he could have a view of the Queen Mother of Illéa. He smirked. "She does," he said. "She reminds me of my own grandmother, the Queen of New England," he said after a few seconds. "They have the same air of refinement and elegance."

"They must at least know each other," she said. "And maybe they ruled at the same time?"

"Probably. Only your grandmother stepped down a long time ago."

"Yes, when her husband died. And my father had to step up."

"Right," Lord Tomlin said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up, I-"

"It's alright," she said. "I barely knew my grandfather, anyway. I was maybe seven when he died."

"Still," he said. "I'm sorry."

She smiled. "Apology accepted, then."

"Thank you."

Just then, the music slowed to a stop and they parted. He bowed and left as the other Selected came one after the other to ask her for a dance. Between two dances, she was able to grab a Champagne flute and drink a few sips. Her throat was dry from talking to all of them.

After an hour or two – she wasn't sure, because it felt like twelve hours – of dancing, she quickly slipped to the side of the room for a small break. She sat on a chair, took out her feet from her awful – but beautiful – shoes and sighed in relief. That's when she noticed the food table. And two most unlikely people standing there.

Prince Haruhito of New Asia, and Prince Yao Jinhai. Two mortal enemies. In the same place. At the food table. Oh, how she wished she could be a little mouse and sneak up to them and eavesdrop!

She had half a mind of doing just that when someone sat next to her.

"So, how's the evening going?" Millie said. "You want to eat something?" she handed her a plate with several tasty-looking amuse-bouche, which Eliza gratefully accepted.

"Thanks." She looked at the food table again, and the two Princes seemed to be deep in conversation.

Millie followed Eliza's gaze and smirked. "You wanna know what's they're saying, huh?"

Eliza nodded. "I just hope they're not plotting anything," she said, half serious.

"No, I don't think so," Millie said. "I'll ask the footman afterward and give you a full report. I promise."

Eliza chuckled. "If they even communicate in English…"

"Oh, yes. There's that. Shoot. I forgot about the language!"

Eliza forgot about the plate on her lap and stared at the two Princes. Out of nowhere, Linus stepped near the table and took his time filling his plate. What was he doing?

* * *

 _ **Hello everyone!**_

 _ **I know you've been waiting for a long time for this chapter! Well, so have I! I finished Nanowrimo with 63k words, and now I'm more than ready to dive into this story again!**_

 _ **THANK YOU to all of you who sent in your form BEFORE November 30. I was able to smuggle all the new characters in this chapter, plus a handful of some you already met before...**_

 _ **So, to those WHO HAVENT SENT IN THEIR FORMS YET** (and I'm still waiting for SEVEN of them) **, please send them in ASAP. But, if you don't have time** (although I think five weeks is MORE than enough) **or the energy/motivation to do so, please tell me ASAP, so I can give your spot to someone else. I have lots of people ready to create OC's who would be more than happy to step in. Also, not cool.**_

 **ALSO: YOU HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER 3RD TO EITHER GET THEM IN, OR TELL ME YOU WON'T. AFTER THAT, YOU'RE OUT, AND I'M GIVING AWAY THE SPOTS. thanks.**

 _ **But, to finish in a lighter mood, thanks for your support, for reading and reviewing! And the next chapter** (although already half written) **will be finished and posted ONLY when I have ALL THE FORMS. Thanks. :]**_

 _ **see you soon! byee!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Finally, all the introductions had been made, Eliza had danced with several of the Selected, having no idea what to tell them, and had grabbed a couple Champagne flutes going around on silver trays carried by servants in black and white suits and white gloves.

It was a mistake, though. Eliza hadn't eaten anything before the Ball, her stomach was in too many knots to even keep down anything, so she didn't even try. And the plate Millie had given her had been left untouched, distracted by the duo at the food table. But now the sparkling wine was going up to her head. She excused herself from the little group of conversation – France, Belgium, and Ireland, she didn't even bother with the names, at the moment – and somehow headed to the amuse-bouche table where so many delicious looking foods were sorted by color. Or was it by type? She didn't care. She took a smoked salmon canapé and brought it to her mouth, not thinking about her breath later on.

Something caught her eye on the right, and she jerked her head to look at what it was. But when she looked, there was nothing there.

She mumbled under her breath, "I could've sworn a saw somethi-"

"Everything alright, Your Highness?" a male voice said to her left, with a slight – was it Indian? – accent. She turned her attention there and saw Prince Rama Chakrabari, of the United Indian Nations.

"Yes," she said with a smile, making sure she didn't have anything stuck in between her teeth, beforehand. "I was just trying to eat something discreetly. Apparently, it didn't work," she added with an awkward smile. Her attempt at making a joke was lame, and she knew it.

Prince Rama chuckled lightly. "Same here," he said. "I was a little hungry so I decided to come to see what the table had to offer, then I saw you." He grabbed an avocado and shrimp verrine. "Mmh, this is good. So, tell me," he said. "How are you holding up? Meeting all of us must be quite tedious."

"It is," she said, without thinking. "But better do it all at once, so the worst is done."

Prince Rama chuckled. "I see. But I understand."

Eliza realized that what she said might have been rude, but the movement was there again. She tried not to be too obvious that his conversation didn't really interest her at the moment and looked where the movement was. Again, there was nothing. She walked along the table to eat something at the other end, and the poor Prince took it as his cue to leave.

Eliza almost sighed in relief and walked in the direction where she saw the orange flash.

And there it was.

"Aw, hi cutie," she whispered. "What are you doing here? In the midst of so many humans?" She gently grabbed the fat ginger cat and actually sat on the floor. "Oh, wow, you even have your own suit and tie? How cute is that?"

She held the ginger cat against her chest and pet him. He purred and Eliza grinned.

"Where did you come from?" she asked the cat. "I've never seen you here, before." She looked under the cat's tie for a collar and nametag, but there was none. She ignored the rest of the world and pet the cat, grinning. "And we're both gingers, how cool is that?" she cooed.

 _"_ _Elisabeth-sama ga Adern wo Mitsuketa sou ne?"_

"I see you found Adern?" a second voice said.

Eliza jumped of fright. She thought she was well hidden behind the table, and she looked up from the floor. "Prince Haruhito," she said, recognizing him instantly. And probably his translator with him. "I-" she tried to get up, but with the cat in her arms, her huge skirt, her high heels, and the sparkling wine, it was harder than expected. Haruhito gave her a hand, which she gratefully took.

"Does your cat have a name? or is this just The Cat?" she asked, not wanting to give him back just yet.

The translator repeated the question in Japanese, and the Prince answered in Japanese, too.

"Master Adern," the translator said. "But he just calls him Adern."

Eliza nodded and gave the Prince back his ginger cat. Of course, he had said that, already.

"I didn't know you brought your cat," she said, straightening the animal's tie while the translator repeated her words in Japanese, to which the Prince answered something that the translator repeated for her.

"He said that he wasn't coming if the cat couldn't come."

"I see." And she also saw that it was very complicated to talk with a translator in the middle as a third wheel. She hoped not too many Selected needed translators. And she couldn't stop thinking about what he and the Mongolian Prince were talking about. She really needed this Ball to be over so she could go ask Linus.

She smiled to the Prince. "Excuse me," she said, walking away. She didn't hear the translator translate that, though. Maybe it was too obvious.

She joined her grandmother who had just slipped to the side after dancing with most – all? – of the Selected, sometimes against their wishes. She wanted to meet them all, so she could give a hand to Eliza in due time.

"Elisabeth," she said, greeting her favorite granddaughter with a warm smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, my feet are hurting, and I have cat hair on my dress now."

Andromeda looked at Eliza's dress. "How on earth did you get cat hair on you, dear?"

Eliza chuckled and told her all about meeting Master Adern, and to which Selected he belonged to, and Andromeda laughed.

"Let's hope not too many have brought their animals," she said. "You're mother's dreadfully allergic to cats."

"I know," Eliza said, smirking. "That'll keep her out of my Selection."

Andromeda chuckled lightly. "Ah, there's someone who wants to speak to you, it seems," she said. "I'll leave you to it." That said, she stepped away and joined another group of people to talk to. Eliza didn't know where this woman found her energy.

She turned around and noticed a tall and lean man she had danced with earlier, but who she hadn't really registered. He was dressed in a fine gray suit, with sharp features and a light stubble. His hair was dark and thick, with natural waves.

"Pastor Nobre," she said, inviting the man from the Brazilian Districts to come to her.

"Your Royal Highness," he said, joining her. "May I ask a favor?" he said in a not quite perfect English, with a slight Portuguese accent.

"Of course," she replied. _At least he speaks English_ , she thought.

"Thank you," he said. "I'd like you to call me Otávio. If that is okay with you?"

She nodded. "But only if you call me Eliza, too."

Otávio chuckled. "It is a deal, then."

Eliza noticed a bulged in his pocket. _Please not an animal_ , she mushed. But it was too square and rigid to be an animal. Perhaps a book?

"Is that your Bible, you carry around?" she asked boldly, the Champagne loosening her tongue a bit.

He smiled lightly. "Yes. Does it bother you?"

"No, not at all," she said. "You're a religious person. So it's not surprising."

He chuckled. "It's like you with a tiara. You are a Princess, so it does not surprise."

"Trust, me," she said. "I only wear it when I have to. It's the most uncomfortable thing to wear." She paused. "After high heels, of course."

"Then think of my Bible like a pair of pants. If I don't have it with me, I feel half naked."

"Oh, I see," she said. "Then it would be like my ring," she added, looking fondly at it. It was a golden band with a green emerald on the top, and diamonds cut out as leaves on each side. "I never take it off, and I feel naked without it." She debated telling him about it, and decided yes, because he seemed to be someone easy to talk to. "It was given to me by my father when I was sixteen. It was just before I left for Highschool." She paused. "It was to remind me of who I was, even if I was away from home. I hated it at first, because I wanted to leave and get a normal education _because_ of who I was. But now I would never part with it. It's a part of me. Like your Bible."

He smiled. "Yes. It's a part of me, too. And thank you for sharing that story with me, Princ- Eliza."

Both chuckled.

A small chamber orchestra continued playing in the background, and couples were still dancing. Eliza looked around the room, wondering what time it was. She wasn't carrying a watch, and she had to leave her phone in her room, because no pockets. She should have thought of that. Next time, she would ask for pockets to be added to all her gowns. Because pockets!

" _Eure königliche Hoheit_ ," a man said. " _Geben Sie mir diesen Tanz?_ "

 _German, that's German. Shit_ , she thought. She turned around and saw a young man with dark hair and light grey eyes, wearing a fancy black embroidered suit. And he had an eyebrow piercing. Which was cool, but she would have never gotten away with a piercing.

"Your Royal Highness," the translator said in English. "May I have this dance?"

"Yes, of course," she said, already dreading the silent dance. Why did she never learn German? They took position and followed the music.

"You are very _schön_ \- uhm, beautiful," he said with a thick German accent. "Red look _gut_ on you."

She forced a smile out. "Thank you. And you speak English. Excellent." It was a tiny bit sarcastic, but he didn't pick on that.

" _Ja_ , _aber_ _nicht_ _gut_. Not good."

"At least we can communicate a little." She chuckled. Her father should have demanded English speakers, or Spanish or French. She sighed inwardly and they danced on for a few minutes, in silence. But she had to admit that Earl Christian Hans Lukas Jannik– yes, she had memorized it all – was a relatively good dancer. At least he didn't step on her toes like the S.A.U.S Prince, Quinlan Ezra King. He was so sorry about it and apologized profusely. Eliza told him it was okay, and they changed the subject.

When the music slowed down to indicate to the dancers that it was time to change the partners, the German prince bowed and thanked her for the dance. At least that's what she thought it meant.

She slipped to the side, hoping to be discreet, but how could she, in her bold red dress? It seemed the dress code on the invitations was the complete opposite: black, dark blue, gray. Was it on purpose, that Andromeda had suggested a red dress? So everyone would see her? she saw Ruby and the camera crew going from one Selected to the other, asking a few questions, and then on to the next one. She hoped she would forget about her. She didn't have anything to say, anyway.

A footman walked passed her with a tray of Champagne flutes, and she gratefully took one. She sipped as she looked at the guests and tried to make herself as small as possible. But the skirt wasn't helping. She took off her shoes and stood on the floor, a few inches shorter than before. No one would notice, anyway.

"You just shrunk a few inches, Your Highness," an unfamiliar voice said, next to her, with an Australian accent and a smirk in his voice.

She jumped, startled.

"Archduke Spencer," she said. "I do hope you're enjoying the evening," she said, not able to think of anything else to say.

"I am," he said. He slid his hand in his left pocket, the one close to Eliza. His dark red suit almost matched with her dress. "Are you?" he asked, looking down at where her feet would be.

She chuckled. "Try wearing these for hours," she said. "What time is it, by the way?"

He checked his watch. "Almost two in the morning, Your Highness."

"Thank you. But please call me Eliza. Or Elizabeth. Your Highness is already getting on my nerves."

"I see," he said. "And I can understand that." He paused. "Would you like something to drink or eat?" he asked.

She held up her Champagne flute. "I'm all set with drinks. But maybe something to eat?"

"Of course," he said. "Sweet or salty?"

She waved the offer. "At this point, it doesn't really matter," she said. "Anything will do."

Spencer Chapman smirked and went to the closest table he filled two small plates of both sweet and salty and came back to her, offering her a plate.

"Thank you." She took a small canapé and took a bite. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," he said, still his hand in his pocket. "Did Ruby already interview you?"

"Yes, she did."

"And what did she ask you?"

He shrugged. "She simply asked me to describe myself with three words, and then she asked me what was my first impression of the Selection, Los Angeles, and you."

"Oh," she said. "And what did you say?"

He chuckled lightly and took out his hand from his pocket to pick something on his plate. Just then, a tiny animal – a mouse? A rat? – jumped out of his pocket.

Eliza shrieked once and dropped her plate, which shattered in a dozen pieces, the food all over the place, and on her skirt. She held her drumming heart.

Spencer quickly put his plate down and crouched, picking up the tiny animal. "I'm so sorry about that," he said. He held the furry ball in his hands. People were watching them, Linus came over running, but he quickly turned everyone away when he saw it was just a pet. "This is Elvis," Spencer said. "He's a Sugar Glider. I should have told you I had an animal in my pocket."

Eliza sighed in relief. "I'm so sorry, I was not expecting an animal, and I thought it was a rat." She chuckled and stepped closer to the Archduke, taking a close look at the cute animal. "Hello, Elvis," she said, gently lifting her hand to pet him, but stopped just short of touching it. "May I?"

"Sure," Spencer said. "He doesn't bite. He's just a little frightened right now."

Eliza gently pet the tiny Sugar Glider and cooed over him. "I wonder how many took their pets with them," she mused out loud. "Tonight, I've already met a cat and a Sugar Glider." She chuckled.

"I don't want to spoil anything for you," Spencer said, "but expect to see other animals around the Palace."

Eliza laughed. And just then, she noticed Linus hovering not too far. She looked up and their gazes met for a second. Oh, how she wanted to go talk to him. But she couldn't. She had a Sugar Glider to pet. You, know. Priorities. After a moment, Spencer joined a group of Selected, who had seen the animal, leaving Eliza alone. She didn't mind.

Yao Jinhai, too, was all alone, sipping something much stronger than her Champagne. She slipped on her shoes and joined him.

"Hello, again," she said, standing next to him.

"Your Royal High-"

"Eliza. Please."

"Eliza," Yao Jinhai repeated, stifling a chuckle.

"I'm not here to talk about politics or anything," she said. "But how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," he said, smirking. "Thank you for your concern." He paused. "Your grandmother is one amazing woman," he said, looking at Andromeda sitting proudly on her throne. "I've watched her dance with every single one of us. How does she do it?"

"I have no idea." She sighed. "But she's one of my favorite people in the world. I couldn't do this without her."

"The Selection?"

"Yes."

Both were silent for a moment.

"Did she have a Selection too? Like you?"

"No. She was part a Selection, though. Like you." Eliza chuckled. "The people loved her. They still do."

Jinhai cleared his throat. "And what does Illéa think of your Selection?" he asked.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but they're not very happy. Selections are usually made of the Illéan People, from every Caste. And this since generations."

"I can understand that," he said. "So they don't like us."

"Not really. But I'm sure you'll all find something to make them love you, right?"

He smirked. "Sure. And we also need to find something for you to love us, too, right?"

She laughed. "That's the whole point!"

People were still dancing, guests were still chatting, others were still drinking and eating, and some Selected were fighting off sleep, stifling yawns and trying to stay standing. And at some point, a thought went through Eliza's mind: _Everyone was well dressed; Everyone was a mess_. She had no idea where it came from, but she liked the sound of it. She must not forget it and write it down before going to bed.

After a while, Eliza finally managed to be alone for a mere five minutes when she noticed Ruby coming over with the Camera crew. _Great_ , she thought, fighting an eye roll.

"Your Highness? Can we have a moment with you?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, yes, sure," the Princess answered.

"Excellent. I have a few questions for you, and-"

"Is this live?" she asked.

"No, of course not. It's going to be edited and showed on the next Report."

"Oh, good. Do you mind if we sit down? My feet are killing me," Eliza said.

"Mine too!" Ruby laughed. "So, yes to seats."

Both women chuckled, and the camera crew followed them to a corner of the room where some empty chairs were waiting.

"Before we start," Eliza said, "can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Ruby replied, straightening in her chair. She loved talking to the Princess, because she was always down to earth, and people loved an accessible Royal.

"Why are you here?" Eliza cleared her throat. "Sorry, that was probably rude. I'm just wondering why you're doing this?"

"Oh, uhm," Ruby seemed to lose her composure a little. "I believe it's because the King didn't want some outsider TV crew coming into the Palace, so they asked the Report team to cover the whole Selection, since we're already insiders, if you know what I mean," she said with a wink. "And we've already interviewed all the suitors tonight."

"Oh," she paused. "Can I know what they said?"

"I'm afraid not," Ruby replied. "Everyone will see that at the same time."

"Okay, fair enough." Eliza shrugged. She'd rather talk to Ruby than any other stranger TV crew. So she was fine with it. "Fire the questions," she said, straitening her back. "Oh, and don't forget that this is my two-in-the-morning face, and that I had a few flutes of Champagne," she said pointing at her face.

Ruby chuckled. "Okay. So, how are you feeling? Anxious? Excited? Scarred? Happy?"

Eliza noticed the little green light on the Camera, which meant that they were filming. "I'm a little excited, to be honest," she said. "Because Champagne!" she giggled. "No, but I'm a little anxious, too. I mean, so many things could go wrong!"

Ruby laughed. "I can believe that. Has anyone of the suitors stood out to you more than the others?"

"That's a trick question, Ruby," Eliza said. "Some were so royal, you know? Even more so than me!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've been out of the spotlight for so long, living a normal – but amazing! – life, and I completely forgot how to royal. And those men are much better at it than me."

"Hm," Ruby said. "That's interesting. One that stood out particularly?" she asked again.

Eliza thought, tapping her index finger on her chin. She was tipsy, that was for sure! She would never do something like that completely sober. "Oh, I know. The Military guy. I mean, did you see him?" she giggled. "I like a guy in a suit," she explained. "But I see that all the time. But the military uniform? And the boots? Now _that's_ something. And the Sugar Glider."

Ruby burst out laughing. "What? Sugar Glider? What even is that?"

"Oh, and I met a cat, too. Master Adern was his name."

"A cat?" Ruby said, genuinely surprised.

"Yes. Ginger, like me. Fat, and with a tie and all. The cutest thing ever."

Ruby raised both eyebrows. "Who brought a cat to the Palace?"

"The New Asian Prince, I believe."

Ruby gasped. "The New Asian Prince? Oh my god. And did you meet the Mongolian Prince, too?"

"Of course, I did," Eliza said. "I met them all, remember? But please let not talk about politics, right now."

"Of course. But I'll come back to you on this, later on in the Selection..."

* * *

 _ **Hi ya'll!**_

 _ **so yeah, I decided to just go with this chapter! I hope you liked it, and that your characters were well portraited! and that you laughed a little.**_

 _ **I'm re-opening this SYOC with 2-3 spots because people backed out. So if you haven't submitted a form yet, and if you can provide it in the next 48 hours, let me know, and I'll send you the form ;) You can pick from all the free countries on my profile** (the ones with no Selected) **.**_

 _ **Also, if you want to join us on Discord to chat about many things (writing, The Selection, procrastinating, and TWIW, among other stuff, here's the link:**_ __discord . gg / bfY5mmT _(without the spaces) **.**_

 _ **And if you want to read a one-shot about Haruhito and Master Adern, just after Chapter 3, go to Millyna's profile and look for**_ A Tale of Food and Fire.

 _ **see you soon! and PM me for the 2-3 spots left!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was around ten in the morning when Eliza opened her eyes. She was alone, her curtains had not been opened, yet, and she was hungry. Also, she had a headache. She rubbed her eyes, her face, and sighed. Going to bed at four in the morning after dancing and talking and drinking all night was not her favorite thing. She used to love it, back in Waverly. But it was called clubbing. Not going to a Ball. Who did that, anymore, anyway?

She took her phone that was waiting for her on her nightstand and turned it on. There was a message from Millie an hour ago. What was the lady doing up this early? Wasn't she hungover, too?

 **Millie** : Mom and Johnson want to see you ASAP for program reasons. Move your butt.

Eliza rolled her eyes. It could wait. Maybe pretend she was still asleep. She looked for another contact, scrolling through her messages. When was the last time she had messaged him? Ah, there.

 **Eliza** : We need to talk. Brunch?

She didn't have to wait long to get his reply.

 **Linus** : Sure. I'll bring your favorite.

 **Eliza** : :) Thanks.

Although she knew him well and they had lived together as flatmates for five years, she was now embarrassed at being seen in her pajamas by him. So she quickly went to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. No gown, today. Or a dress of any kind, nor heels. She put on a navy blue and white striped t-shirt with shorts overalls and some white sneakers. The most comfortable outfit in the universe. And it had pockets! She braided her hair in a loose braid over her shoulder and got out of the bathroom.

The most heavenly smell welcomed her as she stepped into her room. She followed the smell and found Linus waiting for her in her personal sitting room, a tray piled with warm cinnamon rolls, some hot chocolate and a bowl of watermelon salad.

She grinned.

"You look different from last night," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, but this is way better! Look, I have pockets."

Linus raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You wouldn't understand," she said. "You've never worn an uncomfortable gown without pockets."

"Who says I haven't?" he asked, dead serious. But then they both laughed.

Eliza took her time choosing the biggest cinnamon roll and then took a bite. She closed her eyes, letting the sweet vanilla-cinnamon taste fill her mouth. Linus did the same, but without so much devotion. It was just food, for goodness sake!

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" he asked after a moment.

"Last night," she said. "Mortal enemies talked peacefully to each other – at least that's what it seemed – and you went to eavesdrop."

He chuckled. "I might have."

"What did they say? Did they speak in English together?"

Linus nodded. "When I first arrived, yes. Then they noticed me and started talking in Russian."

"Dang it," she said, starting on another cinnamon roll.

"But," he said slyly, "I can still tell you what they said."

"Since when do you speak Russian?" she asked.

He became all serious. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Eliza. Speaking Russian is one of those things."

She looked genuinely surprised. "How did I not know that?"

"You never asked," he said, and Eliza noticed some hurt in his voice. Like she hadn't paid totally attention to him over the years. Where he knew her favorite breakfast – among other things – she didn't know what languages he spoke.

"How do you know Russian?" she asked.

"That's not what I came to talk about," he said.

"Fine. But I'll get that information later. But you have a shady past. What did they talk about?"

He frowned. "First, I don't have a shady past. Second, I'm not really sure. They were talking about some Supreme Leader, and how the Mongasian war was not in the rightful hands. Or something. Their Russian was a little broken, and very accented."

"So you're not sure about this?"

"No, I'm sure I distinctly heard the words _Supreme Leader_. But they didn't say any name or anything."

Eliza frowned. "Who could it be? The New Asian leader, what's his name again?"

"Masahito of Mikasa."

She froze. "How do you even know that on the spot, like that?"

He shrugged. "I have a good memory."

"Anyway, this Masahotu-"

"Hito. Masahito."

"Masahito has a hand everywhere in the world, right? Like they have many allies. Way more than the Mongolian Empire. And I'm just talking about the official ones."

Linus nodded. "Maybe Haruhito was trying to convince Jinhai to join the cause?"

Eliza burst out laughing. "I feel like we're in a Star Wars movie, with the Cause, the Rebels, the Empire, and the Supreme Leader. Maybe Masahito is only Darth Vader, and he serves a higher power? And Haruhito is his Apprentice!"

Linus laughed, too. "You've watched Star Wars too many times, Princess."

They looked at each other, and Eliza realized that he hadn't called her that in a long time. And she actually missed it. She smiled and Linus returned the smile. She felt her cheeks burning and quickly looked away.

"I need to go," she blurted out. "Mom and Johnson are waiting for me."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Prince Rance, for New Zealand; Room 205, Illéan Palace._**

There was a knock on the door, but Rance ignored it. His head was hurting, and he had too many sleep hours to catch up on. Jetlag from New Zealand was awful.

But whoever it was seemed to be insistent. He grunted. "What?!"

The door opened and a man in a suit came in. Rance recognized him as his valet, the man who helped him get dressed the previous day. He sighed and pulled the covers over his head. "Five more minutes. Please."

The valet chuckled and drew the curtains open. "I'm afraid I've already waited as long as I could, Your Highness," he said. "You're expected in twenty minutes for Breakfast."

"Twenty?" he grunted from under his covers. He sighed, kicked them away and headed for the shower. It took him six minutes to get ready, and ten more to choose his outfit for the day. He wanted to do a good impression on the Princess. But little did he know that she was wearing the most comfortable outfit in the universe. With pockets.

But he had a pretty cool outfit, too. People sometimes called him a fashion diva, back in New Zealand. But he didn't care. He enjoyed it.

Eighteen minutes later, he was ready. He went down the stairs and wondered how many guys would be at breakfast. Like was he the only one that got up?

He entered the breakfast room, but there wasn't anyone there, yet. Well, yes, there was the Swiss Military guy. So the legend was true: Swiss people were punctual. He chuckled and sat next to him.

"Hey," he said. "How's it going?"

Raphael looked up. "Great," he said.

"You don't have a headache, like everyone else?" Rance asked.

"No. I just drank a couple of glasses. I'm not really into getting drunk and all."

"Oh."

"I am," the guy from France said, sitting across from them. Rance hadn't seen him coming in. "But I'm used to it."

Raphael chuckled. "Of course, you guys are wine drinkers."

"And the best of the best. Not some shitty wines like the ones in the Lavaux."

Raphael laughed, dismissing the insult. Lavaux Wines were the best wines in Switzerland. "I have to admit Bordeaux wine is really good. But, as I said, I'm not really an adept."

Caspian laughed. "I bet you're a cheese and Chocolate adept, though."

Rance laughed. "Please tell me you brought Swiss chocolate with you?"

"Yes," he said with a smirk. "But not for you, I'm afraid."

"Oh, come on! Just a little bit?"

"I'll maybe bring some later when we go to the Men's Parlor." He paused. "Do you know where the Princess is?"

Caspian and Rance shrugged and looked at the Royal table. No one was there. "No idea. Maybe she's hungover, too?"

They all laughed at the thought. No. Princess Elisabeth Schreave could not be drunk. It just was not canon.

"Maybe she's trying to find a way out of the Mongasian War, for all it's worth," a new guy said. Jericho, Rance remembered. The Oceanic guy. With the Russian Tsar. Niko, as people called him. Nikolai Kalashnikov or something. Rance did not memorize that since he didn't even know the guy.

"You think?" Caspian asked as the two newcomers sat at the table. More guys were arriving, sitting in the designated seats. But there were a few who backed out last minute, apparently. One or two, Rance wasn't sure. But there were rumors that the guy from the Egyptian Empire had to fly back home for an urgent matter. No one said what it was, though. It could anything. Oh well. Too bad for him.

They waited in silence for the others to come. And it took a long time. Some came in well-dressed in suits and all, others in more casual clothes. But what stroke him the most was the New Asian Prince. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt with _Show me your KITTIES_ written in bold black letters on it. Rance chuckled at the sight, and the ones around at the table looked at what made him laugh. They chuckled, too. Except for Raphael. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. He did not find this amusing. They were in a Royal Selection, for goodness sake!

Once everyone was there, the Royal family came in, all dressed in suits and gowns. All but Eliza. She was not there. The Selected stood at their arrival, following Illéan etiquette. Henri Johnson had given then a short update course on it the previous day, before the Ball.

It was more a brunch than breakfast, though since it was almost eleven in the morning. The Royals had been kind enough to let everyone sleep off their hangovers, but it would probably be the only time. Or at least one of the rare times.

They started eating.

"Hey," Prince Rafe said, leaning over in a low voice. "Have you noticed the Princess's Bodyguard?"

Everyone turned to look at the Royal table. At the same time.

"Noo!" Rafe said, "He's not here." He rolled his eyes. "And the Princess either. I noticed how they exchanged glances during the Ball last night."

"How could you have noticed something like that?" Caspian said. "There were so many people."

Jinhai nodded. "I noticed it, too," he said in a thick Mongolian accent.

 _So that's what he was doing, standing alone_ , Rance thought. _People-watching_.

"Do you think there's something going on between them?" Jericho asked. "Or is he just _really_ protective?"

They all shrugged.

"Shut up," Raphael said. "Don't speak about this here."

Niko and Rance rolled their eyes. "Oh, come on," Rance said.

"At least wait until we're in the Men's Parlor. Not in front of them," he replied, motioning to the King and Queen with a slight head jerk.

They hadn't thought about that, clearly.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's Parlor, after brunch._**

The Selected waited, as instructed. Raphael passed around some Swiss chocolate, making friends pretty fast. Because whoever had the Chocolate, had the power. Johnson had told them to meet him there after brunch, because he had some information for them, concerning the Selection, and how it would be organized over the next few weeks.

"So," Rance said joining the little group of guys he had eaten with earlier, biting into a milky piece of chocolate. "What do you think about Eliza and her security detail?"

"I heard rumors he lived with her during her College years, in Waverly," Rafe said.

"What? Seriously?" Caspian said just as the doors opened. They all turned as one, ready to stand if it was the Princess, but it was just Henri.

"Good morning, gentlemen," he said, straightening his already-straight tie and walking up to the front of the room, his black binder under his arm. The men looked at him, and waited. Some were seated on couches, others on chairs, and Tomlin was even sitting on the edge of the pool table. "I've just seen the Queen and Her Royal Highness, Princess Elisabeth," he started, "and they decided that the Princess should go on at least two dates before Friday, where there will be the Report."

The boys looked at each other. Who will she choose?

"And she has decided to select a name randomly for each date," Henri continued, "since she couldn't select your names in the first place for the Selection." He paused. _At least there wouldn't be any political mistakes, with this_ , she had said. But Henri couldn't tell them that, now, could he? "She will be coming in shortly and-"

Someone was knocking on the door. Everyone looked up, and since Prince Kwasi of the United Nations of Africa was closest to the door, he opened it. It was Her Royal Highness, Princess Elisabeth.

Looking very different from the previous night. She was not wearing a gown. Or a dress. There were silent gasps around the Men's Parlor, but Eliza ignored them. She knew they would be surprised to see her dressed like that – short shorts overalls, t-shirt, and sneakers. Her mother had been very unhappy about it and had tried to convince her to dress properly, which Eliza refused. As long as she was behind the Palace walls and Ruby was not roaming around with her camera crew, she would dress however the hell she wanted. Which meant large t-shirts, shorts, and _flat shoes_.

"Good morning," she said, coming up at the front of the room. "I hope you've all recovered from last night." She offered them a smile, but it was somewhat tense. "Now, I'm sure Henri has told you everything, already. I'm going to pick a name or two each day, for afternoon and evening dates. When your name is picked, I'd like you to decide if you want to organize the date, or if you're leaving that to me." She paused, letting the words sink in. It was her way of saying _Impress me_.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets. "I'd appreciate it if we didn't talk about politics or war or anything related to that doing the first round of dates. We'll have enough of that later." She shifted her weight on her other leg. "I first want to get to know you all on a neutral basis."

Most of the boys nodded, others were unsure of where she was going with that.

"Also, I noticed some of you took your pets with you," – she looked at Haruhito and Spencer – "and I find that really great! But you should know that my mother is awfully allergic to cats, and sometimes other animals, too, so please keep them away from her. Preferably here, outside, or in your rooms." She paused. "Do you have any questions?"

No one answered.

And one could hear her heart drumming in her chest, threatening to break her rib cage. At least she hoped no one could hear it. She needed to hold it inside until this little speech was over. She braced herself for the hard part.

"Good. I'm going to pick the first name for this afternoon. Or this evening. You'll decide. And there will be another one tomorrow afternoon, because tomorrow's Friday, and then there's the Report, but I'm sure Henri told you all about it." _Great, now I'm babbling_.

Henri gave her a black box, which he rattled, mixing up the little papers with the names inside. Now, this felt like a real Selection! She dived her hand into the box and took out a little paper. She carefully unfolded it, letting the suspense fall over the room. The boys all looked at her expectantly, half hoping it would be them, and half hoping it wouldn't. It was a lot of pressure to be the first one.

She read the name out loud: "Earl Christian Hans Lukas Jannik." _Great, German again_. She scanned the room, looking for him. She found him in the back. His translator was whispering something to him, probably explaining what was going on. He sat up straight and offered the Princess a tense smile. He said something in German to the translator, and he repeated it in English to Eliza.

"He'd rather do an afternoon date, Your Highness. And he would let you decide what to do."

Eliza nodded. "Excellent." She paused. "I'll meet you at two o'clock in the Entrance Hall," she said. "Wear something less, uhm, more for outside?" She suggested, seeing his fancy black suit. The German Lord nodded, and Eliza walked out of the room.

 **-x-x-x-**

 _ **Outside the Men's Parlor.**_

Once she was out and sure no one could see her, she let out a sigh of relief. She breathed in a couple times, trying to calm her mad heart.

"How did it go?" Andromeda asked, coming over in an elegant champagne dress. "And please tell me you didn't meet them dressed like that…"

"Yes, I did," Eliza said. "And please don't say anything about my outfit, grandmother. Right now, I'm more nervous about my afternoon date than the most comfortable outfit that actually has pockets."

Andromeda smirked. "Who did you choose, then?"

"I didn't choose anyone," Eliza said, looping her arm in her grandmother's. "I selected a name from a box. And, of course, it had to be someone who can't speak English. Well, no, he can speak a little, but I fear the translator will be the third wheel."

Andromeda led her daughter outside, in the gardens and they walked around the flower beds, enjoying the summer sun. "So who did you pick?"

"The German guy. Long name." She looked at her sneakers. "I have no idea what I'm going to do with him. Last night's conversation with him was already pretty awkward."

Andromeda smiled. "I had a pretty good conversation with him. In German."

"You speak German?" Eliza asked, surprised.

"Yes, a little. I took up German lessons when I became Queen, because we had a plan to start trade agreements with the German Federation, but it never happened. I always thought I learned German for nothing." She chuckled. "He's a nice young man, though."

"What did he tell you?"

"Nothing really important. We just chatted. My German was not as good as it once was. But I may have an idea for your date, though."

Andromeda told her the idea, and Eliza was all too happy about it.

"What about the others? I saw you dancing with all of them."

Andromeda chuckled. "Yes, I did! I wanted to get to know my granddaughter's suitors so I could give you advice."

"And?"

"And I'm not going to spoil everything for you now. Before you go on a date, come and see me. I may have something about them that would be good to know beforehand. If I tell you everything now, you won't remember anything."

Eliza chuckled. Of course, her grandmother was right. She was too nervous to memorize anything now. But at least she had her date idea for the afternoon, and she couldn't wait.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! yes, I'm posting fast... hu hu hu**_

 _ **Guys, I just want to thank you all so much for the 17 reviews on the previous chapter. I think that's a record! on all of my stories! You guys are awesome! :D**_

 _ **If you have any additional ideas for your characters, just send them in. I try to use some of the ideas thrown at me on the Discord chat** (link in the previous chapter) **, and I love those little challenges to add to the story! ;)**_

 _ **I'll see you next chapter with the first date!**_

 _ **see ya!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Eliza decided not to arrive at the rendezvous point in advance because she didn't want to wait. So she took her time in getting ready. Samantha helped her put on her riding outfit, and styled her hair in a tight braid down her back. At exactly two o'clock, she was ready and headed out the door, and down the steps to the main entrance. The German guy was already there, waiting with his translator. He was still wearing fancy clothes, but not as fancy as before. It was a black outfit with a long black coat.

"Good afternoon," Eliza said, talking directly to him and ignoring the third wheel.

" _Gut_ afternoon," Christian said with a thick German accent. _At least he tries_ , Eliza thought. He looked at her outfit. "Are we going to, um, _Pferd_ …" he looked at his translator for help. "Horse?" he said, finding the answer on his own.

"Yes, we are," Eliza replied. "I understand you like horse riding."

The Earl nodded. "Can I you something ask?" he asked, literally translating the question from German.

"Yes," she said confused at the order of words, inviting him at the same time to step outside. The Translator trailed behind them, ready to be of service at any moment.

"My name is Hans."

"Oh? I thought it was Christian?"

Hans looked at Mr. Muller, the translator and asked him to explain. It would be easier that way.

"Everyone calls him Hans, back home, and he prefers it."

"Oh, okay. Very well. But only if you call me Eliza. Elisabeth is quite the mouthful and my mother usually calls me that, and she uses my whole name when she's angry." She looked up at her date – because he was towering next to her – and grimaced at his confused face. "I'm so sorry. I tend to babble when I'm nervous." She mentally kicked herself. _Idiot_.

Hans looked at Mr. Muller and he explained what she had said about her name and all she said after that. Hans let out a single chuckle. "It is _gut_ for me, you speak English. I can learn."

She nodded and they walked silently to the stables. It was a large fancy wooden building at the end of a grass walkway, with paddocks on both sides. Some horses were out grazing, and two saddled horses were waiting for them. She went inside and exchanged her sneakers against her personal pair of boots, offering a pair to Hans. They had a pair of each size from kids' size to men size.

Hans took a pair for him and slipped then on, too, walking outside. Eliza grinned. Boots on men were definitely a thing she liked, and she wasn't going to stop staring.

"Your Royal Highness," a male voice said, coming out of a horse stall.

"Lord Tomlin," she said, recognizing him. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled. "I came to see if Lady was okay."

"Wait. Lady? You brought your horse?" she chuckled.

"Yeah! Well, I didn't at first. But when I saw how many of the Selected took their pets with them, I had her shipped in as soon as possible. She just came in this morning."

"Oh wow, that was fast," she said. "I'll definitely come and see her. But not right now, I'm afraid."

"Of course," he said. "You have a date. I wouldn't have come here had I known you were coming here with Christian."

"Hans."

"Hans. Whatever." He chuckled. "Have a nice afternoon."

"Thanks, you too." She smiled and headed outside where Hans was waiting for her in his shiny boots. She smirked and walked up to her grey dappled mare. She buckled her velvet riding helmet under her chin and climbed on Luna. Hans followed suit, and both walked away, leaving poor Mr. Muller all alone. At least it would give him a break for a while. And Eliza did not want a third wheel on her first Selection date. He knew a little English, so they would try to understand each other and not make things too awkward.

They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the summer Los Angeles sun and breathing in some real fresh air. Eliza's horse was just a little ahead of Hans's, so he had a clear vision of her back and her red braid falling in her back. He urged his horse to go a bit faster, until he was next to her.

"What name my horse?" he asked out of the blue, which started Eliza.

"Uhm," she trailed off and looked at his brown stallion. "Apple Pie, I think." She chuckled. "Millie used to give him tons of apples and so we named him that."

"I know what _apple_ is. What is _Pie_?"

"Oh, it's some kind of tart? A cake?"

He smiled. " _Cake_ I know." They chuckled. This conversation was really going to be hard. "Your horse?" he asked.

"Luna. She has a big white spot on her forehead" – she showed on herself where the forehead was – "and it looks like a moon."

"Moon?"

"I have no idea how to say that in German," she mumbled. "The sky at night, there are stars," she paused, and he nodded, understanding so far, "and the moon. Big white circle?"

"Oh!" he said, understanding. " _Der Mond_ , in German."

"Mond," she repeated. "That's fair. You learn English, and I learn German."

Hans chuckled, and they ended up asking each other words either in German or in English. _Not so bad for a first date_ , Eliza thought. _At least I get to learn a new language_.

He even taught her how to say the whole sentence ' _We are horse-riding and having fun'_ , which was ' _Wir reiten und haben Spass'_. Eliza tried to memorize it and Hans was warming up to her. At least she was trying and not dismissing him because he didn't speak English very well. There were lots of words he didn't know, but couldn't really ask her, either. Like how do you say _beautiful_? Or _red hair_? Or _I'm really enjoying this date_ in English? He decided he would ask Mr. Muller for a little glossary for their next date. This one was so quick, he hadn't had time to really prepare. And he'll organize it, too, next time.

They came upon a vast meadow, a place Eliza loved and which was still on the Palace compound, and Eliza suggested they pushed their horses to a trot, and then a galop. It felt good to almost fly and feel freer than she had been in the past weeks!

When they slowed the horses down, Eliza's cheeks were flushed from the speed and something else Hans couldn't quite put his finger on. After a moment, he realized it was happiness. And to see the Princess happy in his presence was something he really wasn't expecting. A warm feeling bloomed in the pit of his stomach, and he realized he hadn't seen true happiness on someone in a long time.

She looked at him and blushed even more when she noticed him already staring. "That was fun, right?" she said trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes," he said, a smile cracking up.

She checked the time on her phone and noticed it was soon time to get home. She laughed.

"What? What is funny?" he asked.

"I just had the craziest idea," she said and brought Luna next to Apple Pie. "Selfie?"

Hans snorted. Nobody had asked him to take a selfie in years. But why not? "Okay," he said shrugging, and unable to wash off the grin from his face. It felt so good, surprisingly.

They leaned towards each other and Eliza snapped a few pictures of them. One smiling, one making funny faces, and one with their horses. She wanted to make a photo album of the Selection so she could look back on it. Just like her Grandmother had done.

And also as a reminder never to let her own children go through such a thing. They would have a normal Selection, that was for sure.

They made sure the pictures were okay enough and headed home in a companionable silence. From time to time, Hans would ask her how to say this or that word, and she would answer.

Two stable men came out of the wooden building when they saw them coming and took their horses. Mr. Muller was there as well, waiting.

"I usually take the time to brush Luna after riding her," she explained. "But today is a bit late. We need to head back home."

Mr. Muller started to translate when Hans told him he had gotten most of what she had said, already. "I didn't see it was this late," he said, getting better and better in English.

"Neither did I," Eliza replied. She honestly didn't think this date would take all afternoon. She only had an hour to prepare before dinner. They walked back to the Palace in silence. "Thank you, Hans, for this lovely afternoon," she said.

Hans took her hand in his and kissed it. "My pleasure," he said.

Then Eliza excused herself and headed directly to her room. She fell on her bed just as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and read the message.

 **Grandma** : How was your date? I saw you walk back to the Palace with him.

 **Eliza** : Fun! I learned some German, too. And we took a selfie.

She sent Andromeda the selfie where they made a smile – in case she made a wrong manipulation of her phone and sent it to someone else. It had happened before. Ah, grandmothers and their phones.

 **Grandma** : Nice! Can't wait to hear all about it, dear.

There was a particular knock on the door, and Samantha came in. "Good afternoon," she said. "I'll prepare your bath."

"Thanks," Eliza said, rolling on her belly and going through her phone. She went on the Illéan Feed and noticed a lot of mixed comments on a picture of her with a glass of Champagne and talking to Cian, the Irish Prince, at the Ball the previous night. How did that get out? It was supposed to be exclusively shown only on the Report. She went through the article. Must have been a guest. She sighed. She would have to check this out with Ruby.

And then she thought of the interview and facepalmed. How ridiculous! She hoped they would edit all the tipsy and drunk parts out. Because the King would never let that pass.

"The bath is ready, miss," Samantha said.

"Great, thanks." She headed to the bathroom, took off her riding clothes and slipped in the rose-scented warm water. Back in Waverly, she never took baths. One, because they only had a shower, and two, because she wouldn't have had the time, anyway. But this was actually something she had missed, without realizing it.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Duke Henryk, from Poland. Room 209, Illéan Palace._**

Henryk stood in front of the mirror, trying to comb his unruly hair, but to no avail. His dark blond curls just wanted to do their own thing, that evening. He shrugged and decided to wear something that would take all of the attention, so no one would notice his hair. He chose a coal grey suit with a colored shirt – yellow – and a tie with some crazy Art Deco graphics on it. People wouldn't see that he was having a bad hair day.

He checked the time and decided that it was time to go. No use being late for the first official dinner with the Royal family, right? He closed a button on his suit and headed out the door. His two neighbors from room 207 and 211 came out at the same time, Alexander and Rafe respectively, and they nodded at each other. They walked down the steps and waited with the others outside the Dining room, as instructed by that bullet journal guy. What was his name again? Ah, yes. Henri. Just like him.

A few minutes later, the butler invited them to go in and find their seats around the table. They were seated with little name tags above the plates. Great, Henryk thought. We couldn't even choose where we sat. He found his place and took a seat. He was in between Rafe and Alexander, so they were probably seated by room order.

They waited.

When the butler announced the Royal family a few moments later, the Selected all stood as one, welcoming them. They sat at the table on the small stage, so they could have an eye on the boys, Henryk noticed. He also noticed that Eliza was not wearing the short shorts from earlier that day, but rather a navy-blue sleeve dress with a very complicated hairdo that must have taken ages to do. He ran a hand in his own curls, thankful he could just let them be if he wanted.

Once the first plates had been served, small talk and gossip emerged all around the table. Henryk kept his ears opened for anything interesting that might come up. And the German guy was only two seats away, so maybe he could hear him.

"How was your date?" Rafe asked Hans.

Hans nodded and smiled. " _Gut_. We did horse, uh," he trailed off, not remembering the word.

"Pferde-Reiten?" Henryk asked. The little German he knew came out easily.

"Ja," Hans said, grateful for a German-speaker among the boys.

"Horse-riding," Henryk translated.

"Oh," Rafe said. Then he lowered his voice: "And how does the princess look in tight riding pants?" he smirked.

The boys around the little group chuckled and leaned in to hear the answer. But Hans only understood part of the question, so he looked at his fork. But since Henryk wanted to know the answer as well, he translated the question in German. Hans' cheeks became pink in an instant, contrasting with his black outfit.

"I did not see," he said.

"Oh, come on," Rafe said, making his mouth pop. "You can't miss a girl-" someone kicked him under the table and shushed him. He wasn't sure who it was. "You can't miss a girl," he repeated in a whisper, "in tight pants."

Henryk chuckled. "Then you should ask her to go horse-riding, too."

"Nah," Rafe said. "I'm not cut out for that."

"Why?" Henryk said. "You don't look good in tight pants?"

The boys burst out laughing, which made the royal family look up.

"May we know what you're laughing about?" Andromeda asked. "So we may laugh with you, too."

The boys all stopped laughing at once. If the Illéan Royal family knew that they were talking about Eliza in tight pants, the King would start a war with the whole world.

"Nothing important," Tomlin said. He had followed the whole conversation from a few seats away. "They're just making fun of Rafe, Your Majesty."

Andromeda smirked. "And may we know what, about Rafe, was so funny?"

"It's inappropriate, I'm afraid." Tomlin said, trying not to laugh himself.

"Too bad," Andromeda said. "I haven't had a good laugh in ages."

Henryk noticed Eliza trying hard not to laugh. Clearly, she was very fond of her grandmother.

The rest of the dinner went on without any other incident. The boys tried to keep to small talk and not burst into laughter again. They would pick up where they left off in the Men's Parlor.

When dinner was over, the boys trickled out of the room and headed to various places. Some back to their rooms because either they were still jetlagged and needed to sleep or because they were antisocial at the moment; others went to the Men's Parlor, or outside for some fresh air. Henryk stayed behind a little, waiting to see what the Illéan Royal family would do. Princess Emilia headed upstairs, while Eliza went outside. She thought no one saw her and went to the gardens. Henryk watched her from the window and followed her with his gaze until she stopped. He squinted and noticed she stopped just in front of the small lake. She didn't move.

He followed his instincts and walked the same path she had. Only he walked on the grass and not the gravel path, so she didn't hear him coming.

"Everything alright, Highness?" he said in the silent night.

Eliza jumped and turned around. "Henryk," she blurted out. "I mean Duke Henryk".

"Henryk is fine," he said, coming next to her, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Nice lake."

Eliza chuckled. "Yeah. I used to come to swim here all the time when I was a kid."

"You don't anymore?"

"No. I haven't in years, being away all the time."

"Right. I forgot you weren't in the spotlight anymore. Did you like it?"

"What? Being out of the spotlight?"

"Yeah, all of it. College?"

"I loved it." She paused, thinking of her past five years, how she could do whatever she wanted. As long as Linus didn't drag her home because she was drunk. She smiled, thinking of all of it. "They probably were the best years of my life, to be honest."

"I can imagine that." He paused, breathing in some fresh night air.

"You studied, too, right?" she asked, rummaging through the files in her mind.

"Yes. Law." He chuckled. "And I'm going to be the best lawyer in my country, one day." He proudly lifted his chin and smiled smugly.

"I don't doubt it one second," she replied, smiling. "Unless you end up staying here."

"Yeah," he said. "But I wouldn't mind it either."

There was a light breeze and Eliza shivered. She hugged herself, trying to keep warm. But she didn't want to go back inside just yet. The fresh air did good to her nerves.

Henryk took off his suit jacket and placed it on the Princess' shoulders.

"Oh, thank you," Eliza said, surprised. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Then expect it from me, next time, and maybe more." He grinned at her and they stared at the shining lake a few more minutes after heading back to the Palace. Eliza cursed out loud her high heels in the gravel and almost twisted her ankle. Henryk caught her just in time.

"Maybe you should walk in the grass?" he suggested. Eliza took his advice and continued in the wet grass. Millie wouldn't be happy to see the shoes wet.

 **-x-x-x-**

Eliza walked up the steps and gave an enormous yawn. She was exhausted!

"You look tired," a familiar voice said.

She looked up. "Oh, hey, Linus." She smiled and held the jacket tighter around her shoulders.

"I'm not sure that's yours, is it?" Linus asked trying not to laugh. He pointed at the suit jacket on her shoulders.

"Oh, no, you're right. I totally forgot to give it back." She chuckled nervously and took it off. "I should go give it back, though."

"Nah, let me do it," Linus said, offering to take the charcoal grey suit jacket. "Who's is it?"

"Henryk. The Polish guy. I don't remember his room number, though," she replied, handing him the garment.

"I'll find out." He paused. "So, how was your day? I don't see you as much, now."

"Fine, I guess." It was awkward to talk to Linus about her dates or time spent with the boys. She missed him, she realized. "I think I just need to get used to all this." She sighed and yawned again. "But I should go to bed. Tomorrow's another long day, with a date and the Report. But coffee soon?"

"I'd like that," he said. "Good night, Liz," he said softly, leaning in and placing a light kiss on her cheek.

She blushed beet red and hurried in her room. She was not expecting that! In all the years they had spent together in Waverly, he had never done that. She fell on her bed and touched her burning cheek.

After a moment of dazed silence, she kicked her shoes off and rang for Samantha who arrived three minutes later. Eliza didn't have the strength to do anything herself, right now. And she was taking on bad habits again. For five years she had done everything by herself. But then again, she didn't wear fancy dresses and up-dos every day. Samantha helped her with the dress and took out every single bobby pin from the complicated bun. She stopped counting after thirty-four, and just let Sam's expert fingers finish the job in her unruly hair.

Once she was ready, she brushed her teeth and slipped under the covers. There was nothing better than some clean, crisp, cold covers to fall asleep in. She closed her eyes and sleep got ahold of her right away. It had been a tiring day, really.

* * *

 _ **Heyyyy! so here's the first date you've all been waiting for! ;) Hope you enjoyed it.**_

 _ **Some of you already know or saw that I started a "TWIW Companion" story** (and the Pinterest board called likewise) **, and I'm going to post some other POVs there as the story goes. There are already a Salty Millie and an Andromeda POV. And I know some of you are also writing one-Shots for this! Which is so awesome! I can't wait to read them and share them!**_

 _ **So if you want to write a CANON one-shot** (or more!) **of your Character's POV** (either a prequel or a sidequel) **, feel free to do so! Send it to me through PM, and I'll post it there, giving you all the credit. I know some of you prefer to post your one-shots on your account, which I can understand, but I think it would be more practical for everyone if everything is in the same place.**_

 _ **Also** (sorry, there's a lot of info, today!) **, as you may have noticed on the previous chapter, the guys will be able to choose if they want to organize the first date or not and if it's an afternoon or evening date. If you want to change your "First date idea", let me know! ;)**_

 _ **I think that's all for today. Pfiew! See you soon!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Eliza knew she had to select another name for the second official date, so she decided to put on a more adequate outfit than the previous day. Maybe something less short? She decided on a pair of Capri loose grey pants, her ever-present white sneakers, and a black and white striped t-shirt. And to think of it, she had lots of striped t-shirts in her closet.

Once she was ready, Samantha gave her her daily schedule, given by Henri. First, breakfast with everyone. Second, pick a name for the second date. Third, join her father for the daily meeting with the advisors. Then, lunch, date, and Report. She sighed.

And she needed to go grab a coffee with Linus, at some point. Her cheeks heated quickly at the memory of his kiss the previous night. She didn't know what to think of it. On one hand, it felt so natural and normal, but on the other, it was awkward. She was having a Selection, for Christ sake!

She folded the paper, stuffed it in her pocket and walked out of her room.

"Hey, Millie!" she called after her sister who was just coming out of her room, too.

Millie broke into a big smile. "Eliza." She joined her sister and both girls hugged.

"We really need to catch up on some sister talk," Eliza said.

"Sure!" Millie replied. "I'd love to!"

Eliza didn't catch the eyeroll her sister did as she stepped down the steps. Oblivious to her sister's thoughts Eliza chatted as they headed to the dining room where a large buffet of breakfast was laid out for them. Eliza headed directly to the cinnamon roll and fruit salad section and filled a plate.

"I didn't know you were the cinnamon roll type," someone said next to her.

Eliza chuckled and looked up at the guy next to her – Prince Latreall, from Spain – and then at his plate.

"Well, I didn't know you were the waffle and whipped cream type," she replied without missing a beat.

"Oh, yeah, I am," he said putting on even more whipped cream. "With lots of chocolate toppings, too." He laughed. "You know who looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you?" he whispered in conspiracy, looking at the Royal table.

"No? my mom?"

"Yeah," he said, slowly, "but I wasn't thinking of her. Your sister, though."

"Are you kidding? Millie looks like a cinnamon roll and is actually a cinnamon roll," she said, defending her sister.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Latreall said. "But the person who looks like she could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll is your grandmother."

"Oh, yes, definitely!" she said, laughing.

Latreall joined in the laughter and they went to their respective seats. Eliza at the head table on the small stage, and Latreall among the other Selected. At breakfast and lunch, they could sit wherever they wanted with whomever they wanted. Eliza noticed she was the only one at her table in a completely casual outfit, with sneakers. The other women were wearing heels – of course – and suits or dresses. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. This was not a business trip they were on. This was everyday life. She also noticed some of the boys were in very casual outfits like her, and others in suits. She didn't mind, as long as everyone was comfortable.

After breakfast, she followed the guys in the Men's Parlor. "Good morning, everyone," she said, a little less nervous than the previous day, because she didn't have dozens of pairs of eyes fixated on her legs, this time. "Before you start your morning with Henri, I'm going to select a name for this afternoon's date. I'm afraid you won't have a choice on the timing of this one…" she trailed off as Henri gave her the box. She slid her hand in the small opening at the top and went blindly through the papers. She took one out and read it out loud:

"Alexander Paul Aloupi." The Greek guy. She looked around the room to find him and he raised his hand when she couldn't find him in the sea of young men in front of her. "Ah, there." And she noticed there wasn't any translator next to him. Good. "Would you like to organize the date? Or would you rather it be me?" she asked.

"I can do it," he said in perfect English with a tiny accent.

"Excellent." She put the paper away in a bowl of already-used-names. "Let me know when and where to meet you. But keep in mind that we need to be back by five o'clock to get ready for the Report at six. But Henri's going to go through that with you guys." She smiled and walked out of the room without a glance over her shoulder. She didn't want to see who was watching and who was ignoring her.

She sighed and took out her phone to check the time. _Good. I have thirty minutes before meeting with dad_ , she thought. She texted Linus.

 **Eliza** : Coffee, now? I have 30 min.

But her finger froze above the _SEND_ button. If she did send it, she would have to go over what happened the previous night. And she needed a bit more time to process that. Instead, she sent the message to Millie.

 **Millie** : Not now.

 **Millie** : I have a meeting for the next School I'm working on.

 **Millie** : Sorry.

Oh, well. That was a good excuse. Even if the messages were a bit cold. But she was busy. Eliza sighed. So she ended up sending the message to Linus, after all.

 **Linus** : Sure. Where?

 **Eliza** : Kitchen Patio?

 **Linus** : Okay.

Eliza headed to the kitchens. Everyone was busy, already working on the next meal. She discreetly asked one of the Chef's assistant for two coffees – she knew what kind Linus liked, thanks to all the times they had ordered coffee together in Waverly – and waited for him out the patio door. The kitchen staff had a small patio with a few wrought iron chairs and tables, and with a wall covered in blackberries and raspberries. While waiting for her friend, she gathered some berries and put them on the table. He arrived just then, a grin on his face.

"Hey," he said. "I'm glad we're already doing this coffee thing." He closed the kitchen door, so it was just the two of them, with no one to bother them.

"Me too," she replied, forgetting how flustered she had been just moments ago when she thought about his kiss. She sat across from him. "I got you a black one," she said, pushing the cup towards him.

"Thanks." He chuckled. "So…"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How do you know Russian?" she blurted out instead of asking him about the kiss, which she had intended to do in the first place.

A shadow passed on his face but was quickly gone. "Because I lived in Mongolia for the first seventeen years of my life."

Eliza's eyebrows went to her hairline. "What? How is that possible?"

"I was born there, from two Illéan parents." He paused, but Eliza didn't say anything. The least she could do was listen to his story when she had never asked before. "They were – are still – Twos, and were trained by the CIA. They met there, during training. They got married and then were sent undercover in Mongolia to gather information on New Asia, Russia, and Mongolia. There was talk about the New Asian Emperor at the time that he wanted to make New Asia a superpower. Which Illéa couldn't afford, so they needed intel. Mongolia was in the middle, a good strategic point." He paused, turning his cup of coffee, but not drinking any.

"Then my mom got pregnant, and I was born. For years, I had no idea what my parents were really doing, you know? I just thought we were expatriates from Illéa, wanting to live in another country. As I grew up, my parents made me take martial arts lessons, and my dad taught me everything he knew about knife throwing and firearms and whatnot. I learned Russian and Japanese in school, as well as Mongolian, and we spoke English at home.

"While we were there, I was maybe five or six, the Emperor died in an accident and his two sons took on the throne: one as Emperor, the other as Regent. That's why I listened on that conversation the other night. I had some personal interest in it, too.

"When I was seventeen, my father was followed by someone who wanted to kill him. he was just around the house, and I saw the man behind him. He was about to kill my father, so I stepped in and I-" he took a shaky breath and balled his fist on the table. "I killed that man with a knife I threw that stabbed him in the face. My father's cover was blown, and we had to come back to Illéa, practically as fugitives." He looked away, not meeting her eyes.

"What happened then?" she asked softly.

"When I turned eighteen, I enlisted in the Military, here in Illéa. I got promoted several times, but I wanted to do something more personal, not in the middle of a group of soldiers. So I went for bodyguard training. And here I am. You were my second assignment."

Eliza smiled. "I'm glad you told me that," she said.

"But now you're gonna hate me. I'm a murderer," he said barely above a whisper. And Eliza realized that what would hurt him the most was not being a murderer. It was for her to hate him. But she could never do that. She trusted him with her life and soul.

"I can never hate you, Linus," she said, taking his balled fist in her hand. "There's no place for hate in my heart for you."

He tried a smile, but it didn't turn out really well. It was the first time he talked about his past so openly, and he felt much lighter. Something that he hadn't felt in years.

Eliza's phone buzzed in her pocket and she jumped. Crap. She was probably late to the meeting. With her free hand, she took out her phone. And sure enough:

 **Dad** : You were expected 5 min ago. Hurry.

 **Eliza** : Sorry. Coming.

She quickly typed with one hand. "I'm sorry, I have to go, dad is waiting." She let go of his hand and both felt a coldness creep into their empty fingers.

He nodded. "Of course. I'll see you later."

Eliza left, her coffee untouched, and headed to the meeting room, bracing herself for a lecture in front of everyone.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's Parlor, 11:30 am._**

The "lesson" was over, and the boys now had some free time on their hands before lunch. But Alexander had other things on his mind. He had a date to plan, and he didn't have much time left, especially since he wanted to start the date before lunch. He hadn't really paid any attention to what Henri was telling them – something to do with Illéan History – and he took notes for his date instead. He would ask someone for the history notes later.

"So, what are you planning?" Raphael asked, coming over, watching over Xander's shoulder at what he was writing down.

Alexander shrugged. "Taking her out for lunch is the first step. But I need to make a few calls to organize the rest." He frowned thinking. "Do you know the name of her bodyguard?"

"Uh, no. But some of the guys were talking about him yesterday. Maybe Rafe knows? He wanted to ask around."

"Thanks." Xander stood and joined the loud group of guys talking with Rafe. "Hey, do you guys know what's Eliza's bodyguard's name is?"

"Why?" Rafe said.

Xander raised an eyebrow. "None of your business. Do you know his name or not?"

"Maybe. But I'm not telling you unless you tell me why you need his name."

"Forget it," Xander said and Rafe sniggered with the others. He headed outside and looked for someone who would know. He found a maid and politely asked her.

"Mr. Linus Reagan, sir. Do you need to speak to him?" she asked.

"Yes. Do you know where he is?"

"Try the back door to the gardens, Your Highness. He's often smoking there when the Princess is in a meeting."

"Thank you, miss."

The maid curtsied and walked away as Xander headed for the garden door. And sure enough, the guy was there, smoking a cigarette.

"Mr. Reagan?" he called out.

Linus looked up.

"Yeah?" He recognized one of the boys. "Your Highness?" he said, correcting himself.

"I uh- I've been picked for this afternoon's date, and I wanted to go over some things with you, since you're her security detail, and all."

"Oh, uhm. Sure. Tell me." Linus braced himself. Helping the guys date the love of his life was going to be torture. But he didn't have a choice. They were Princes and Nobles: he couldn't really say no to them.

So Xander went over his idea with Linus, asking him where he could find this and that, and if he could actually go through with his idea. Linus told him he could, but that he needed first to get the green from the King to go out of the Palace compound. He said he would take care of it while Xander organized the rest. He gave him some phone numbers to get his idea ready.

Just before lunch was announced, he sent a small note to Eliza, thanks to a maid. All he needed to do, know, was waiting for her. Everything else was ready, and the King had given his consent for them to leave, on the one condition that Ruby and a cameraman would be following them, along with Linus. Xander wasn't really happy about it, but couldn't refuse that either. So he accepted.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Main Hall, 12:00._**

As instructed, Eliza arrived in a summer dress, her bathing suit straps showing around her neck. It was a knee-length navy blue dress with some low heel sandals. Xander smiled.

"You look lovely, Elisabeth."

She chuckled. "Thanks. And thanks for letting me wear something comfortable. Also, please call me Eliza."

"Will do, but then call me Xander. There's another Aleksander in this Selection. He's Alek."

"Right. I wondered how I was going to differentiate you two." They chuckled.

"Shall we go?" he said.

Eliza nodded. She also noticed his comfortable outfit: a pair of short that looked like swim trunks, and a plain t-shirt. "Where are we going?" she asked as they stepped outside, where a camera was pointed at her, with Ruby and Linus – both in casual outfits – on the side. _Great_ , she thought. _We don't only have a third wheel but the whole freaking train._ She kept the smile on her face and ignored them as best she could.

Xander and Eliza walked to the Hangar where all the cars and vehicles were stationed. Linus was going to be the chauffeur on this date, and Ruby and the other camera guy would be following in another car, smaller and more discreet. Xander and Eliza climbed at the back, and Linus turned on the engines. They drove in an awkward silence to the center of Los Angeles and then to the seaside, up north. Linus stopped the car near a small rocky cove.

Xander and Eliza stepped out, and the Princess took in a deep breath of the salty air. "I love this smell so much," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Xander replied. "Back in Greece, this smell is practically everywhere. It's a bit different though. Much more limestone-y."

He popped open the trunk of the car and took out a large bag. While they walked down the stone path to the small beach at the bottom of the cove, Linus drove away. Eliza wondered where he was going, but didn't linger on it much longer. She noticed Ruby and her sidekick stay at the top. They were giving them some privacy, which was very welcome.

Upon arriving on the sand, Eliza immediately took off her shoes and sunk her toes in the warm sand. She couldn't remember the last time she had come to this little cove, but it had been at least six or seven years. Xander took out a large blue and white checkered blanket and spread it out on the sand. Eliza watched as he took out item after item of picnic from the bag. Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, bottles, glasses, …

"Are you hungry?" he asked, sitting down.

"I am now," she said, looking at the food and sitting down on the blanket. "It's really great to be out. I don't know how much longer I could have spent cooped up in that Palace."

Xander chuckled. "Same. I'm an outdoors' Prince. So I figured why not get the hell out?"

"Very wise idea."

"Sorry about the Camera and all. Your father insisted on it. They can keep an eye on your dates in the Palace and around it, but not outside."

Eliza shrugged. "I don't mind. If they stay up there, I think I can forget about them!" They laughed and started on the sandwiches. They chatted lightly about the outside world, and she asked him lots of questions on Greece.

Once they were finished, Eliza noticed Linus coming down the path with a huge gray plastic box. She frowned, half confused, half curious.

Xander grinned. "Now this is the good part," he said. "The picnic was just so we could be out earlier, so we'd have more time."

They waited for Linus to bring the box, and when Xander opened it, Eliza gasped. In it was an assortment of wetsuits and snorkeling gear.

"You're serious?" Eliza said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yep! I thought I could share with you one of my favorite things." He took out a short sleeve and shorts wetsuit and handed to Eliza. "Here, wear this over your bathing suit."

Eliza chuckled and obeyed. Xander politely turned his back to change, too, and Eliza took off her dress. She noticed Linus watching, but he quickly looked away when their gazes met. She slipped on the grey wetsuit and Xander helped her with the zipper in the back, and she helped him with his.

"Where on earth did you find all this gear? We certainly don't have that at the Palace."

"I rented it. Your guy went to get it while we were eating."

"Oh." She chuckled and took out a snorkeling mask and snorkel from the box. They put on some flippers too, and they laughed at each other's bizarre outfits.

"It'll be better to wear the mask over wet hair and skin," he said, heading for the water. "Come on!"

Eliza followed him, having trouble walking with the flippers, and was surprised to see that the water didn't seem that cold, with the wetsuits. He showed her how to put the mask and how to breathe through the mouth. He made sure to show her how not to panic underwater, and how to spit out water that would come into the snorkel, and not to choke on it.

"Okay," he said, his voice different because of his nose clogged by the mask. "You're ready?"

Eliza nodded. She put the snorkel in her mouth and followed Xander in the water. They stayed at the surface for some time, and Eliza focused on breathing through her mouth. She was scared of putting the snorkel in the water and choking on the salted water. But after a few moments, she relaxed. A school of colorful fish swam past them as they swam towards the open sea.

Xander took a deep breath and dived to the bottom of the ocean while Eliza watched. He came back up with a red starfish and both he and Eliza took their heads out of the water.

Eliza took out the snorkel. "Oh, my goodness! It's so pretty!"

"It is. Did you know that a starfish can grow an arm if it got torn off?"

"I thought it was a myth," she said.

"Nope, it's true. But I'm not going to try that now, though!" He dived back and put the animal back on a rock. Each time he came back up, he brought something new to show her. A dollar shell, some sea urchins, and even a huge orange and pink conch. He made sure no animal lived in it. "This one's for you. I'm not bringing it back," he said chuckling.

Eliza smiled and took the conch between her hands. After some more snorkeling and laughing and exploring new things, they headed back to the beach, their flippers propelling them faster than expected back there. They walked backward in the sand to their bags, and Ruby and the camera guy were on the beach, waiting for them.

They had filmed them in the water and now Ruby wanted to get some close-up shots of them.

"Don't mind us," she said. "We'll be in and out."

The camera filmed the flippers, the conch shell in Eliza's hands and their happy smiles with the masks on their heads.

"Oh!" Eliza said. "I almost forgot!" she rummaged through her bag for her phone. "We have to take a selfie!"

Xander chuckled. "Dressed like this?" he said. "Seriously?"

"Yes! I want some pictures to look back on later. Come on!" They took a few pictures, and Ruby even suggested to take a full picture of her and Xander with her phone, which Eliza was grateful about. After that, they headed home to get ready for the Report.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! hope you enjoyed this fun date! :)**_

 _ **I wanted to include the Report into this chapter, but it was already long enough.**_

 _ **anyway. don't forget to send me your TWIW companions, if you want! ;) and thanks to all those who have been posting on Pinterest! and to those who only have a handful of pins your board, could you add some pins to them? like outfits, or scenery of their homes, or anything aesthetic,... just pin stuff! xD**_

 _ **okay. See you next chapter!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Three makeup artists were going through the Selected, making sure their faces wouldn't shine under the spotlight of the Report stage, and one was occupied with only Eliza. She closed her eyes and held still, knowing that the quicker it was done, the better. She had let Andromeda help her choose her outfit for the first Report with the Selected, but refused to wear a bold dress like the one for the Ball. This was just a TV show, and she wanted to stay herself.

"It may be a TV show," Andromeda had said, "but people are watching you, especially."

"That's the thing," Eliza replied. "I don't want to be a fairytale Princess. I want to be relatable. Someone they can think of as like them, you know?"

Andromeda chuckled. "You know that's not possible, dear. You're the Heir to the Throne, the Crown Princess. They will never relate to you."

Eliza's shoulders slumped a bit. She was ready to prove everyone wrong about that. So she had put on a beige silk dress with a white lace top, and some chunky brown heels, with a messy bun and no tiara or heavy royal jewelry. She had insisted on that.

"Are you ready?" Ruby said, coming over. Eliza opened her eyes and the makeup artist walked away to take care of the other royals.

"I think so," Eliza said.

"Good. So this is how it's going to be, tonight." Ruby explained the plan for that evening's Report, where King Oliver would say a few words, as usual, and then there would be an edited video of the Ball and the interviews she had done of her and the boys, then a few Live questions and then wrap it up.

Eliza nodded, already anxious about the tipsy interview. But oh well. What was done was done, right? And Ruby said she would edit the bad parts out…

 **-x-x-x-**

"Good evening, Illéa!" Ruby said when the credits disappeared on the screen, and the cameraman gave her the cue. "I'm so excited to be here with you tonight! We have so many things to show you and tell you! But before we get to the part you're all waiting for, our beloved King has a few words for us." She stepped aside and King Oliver walked to the center of the stage. He had a small hidden clip-on microphone so everyone could hear him well.

"Good evening," he said in his baritone voice. "I am very excited to be here with you, tonight. This Selection has started off really well, and I am eager to see how it unfolds." He paused. "I know some of you were unhappy about this international Selection, but I promise you this will be the only time it will be done this way. I'm sure Princess Elisabeth will give a normal Selection to her Heir." He chuckled, but the sparse live audience – there was drastically less people than usual – didn't follow. He went on about some economic updates and gave a couple other statements about other things, but no one really paid attention. They were all waiting for the main topic of the Report: The Selection.

Eliza knew most of the people and journalists would be looking for something to criticize or complain about, and that she would find it in the papers the next day.

"Thank you," Ruby said, coming back on the stage. "Now, as you've all been waiting for, some pictures and interviews during the introductory Ball." She stepped aside as the lights dimmed and the screen in the back lit up. The Schreaves and the selected boys had to crane their necks to see, but it was okay.

Eliza was surprised to see aerial pictures of the Ball. She hadn't noticed a drone during that evening? Of course, not. How could she notice something like this when she was so nervous? The pictures showed aerial views of Eliza walking down the steps, and the boys coming down one after the other – some in slow motion, others in fast forward – and it flowed pretty well. Then some eye-to-eye level pictures of the guests, of Eliza's first dance with Adrien – and the next ones that followed. She wondered how they made it look like every turn of the dance there was another suitor. It must have taken hours to do that!

Then came the little interviews. Ruby asked the question "What's your name, where are you from, and how would you describe yourself in three words?" and the boys – not all – appeared one after the other, with just those three words, leaving some mystery for Eliza and the others to solve.

"Lord Tomlin, from New England. I would say spontaneous, relaxed, and observant."

"Prince Haruhito of Mikasa, from New Asian," the translator said after Haruhito answered in Japanese to the whole question. "Crazy cat lady, calm, creative." The translator wasn't really sure he should have translated _crazy cat lady_ , but he did.

"Prince Kwasi, of the United Nations of Africa, and I would describe myself as organized, careful and practical. Some say I'm an old man in a 23-year-old body!" he said sarcastically.

"Prince Sebastian, Duke of Arenberg, from the Belgium Kingdom." He paused, thinking. "Tall, energetic and loud!" he chuckled.

"Earl Hans, German Federation," Hans said with his thick German accent. "Artistic, rebellious, shy." Clearly, he had asked Mr. Muller for the English words beforehand.

"Tsarevich Nikolai, from the Russian Empire. Three words would be intelligent, composed, and understanding." From what Eliza could see on the video, he had delivered those words with a very charming but detached smile, with quiet confidence. She wished she could speak like that, too.

"Prince Rama from the Kingdom of India and Bangladesh." He tilted his head, thinking. "I would say kind, analytical, and maybe friendly." He smiled at the camera.

"I'm Prince Quin, from S.A.U.S," he said overconfidently. "And I'm arrogant, rebellious and confident, as if you couldn't see that, already." He smirked and the images changed to the next young man.

"Duke Henryk, from Poland," Henryk smirked, thinking. "My three words are hardworking, funny, and handsome." He winked at the camera and people couldn't not chuckle. Eliza, too, laughed.

"Prince Latreall, from the Kingdom of Spain. I guess I'm responsible, intelligent, and progressive?"

"Otávio Nobre, Assistant Pastor from the Brazilian Districts." He paused, thinking. "I'm devoted, to my church, and to my family; I'm observant, and respectful." He offered a smile to the camera before the image changed to the next contestant.

"Duke of Rome, Cassius, from Italy, obviously." He smiled, his angular jaw accented even more by it. "I like to think of myself as someone creative, adventurous, and… sweet."

"Lieutenant Raphael, from Switzerland. I have a Swiss reputation to uphold, so I'm going to say I'm very punctual," he said, chuckling. "I think I'm also a social and hardworking person."

"Prince Jinhai, from the Mongolian Empire. I'd say I am reliable, attentive and clever."

"Archduke Spencer, from New Australia. Strategic, dutiful and analytical," he said without much hesitation. He didn't seem arrogant, though. Just stating facts.

"Prince Caspian, New France," he said with a grin, which showed some smile wrinkles on his cheeks. "I'm a perfectionist, responsible, and a player, I think."

"Adrien, Prince of Monaco. I'm fun, charismatic, and handsome!"

 **-.-**

After these little insights into the boys, there were some other images of the Ball, some aerials, and some eye-level, some close-ups of the boys, of Eliza, and of the food, too.

"How are you feeling?" they heard Ruby ask in the video, and Eliza braced herself when she saw herself on the screen. She looked absolutely ridiculous! "Anxious? Excited? Scarred? Happy?"

"I'm a little excited, to be honest," she had said. "Because Champagne!" On-screen Eliza giggled. "No, but I'm a little anxious, too. I mean, so many things could go wrong!"

Eliza fought the urge to facepalm in front of the whole country. Ruby promised to edit out the tipsy and inappropriate bits. And that was one of them! Ugh.

Right after that, the images cut back to the boys, and this time Ruby asked them another question: "You've been here for just a couple of days. What is your first impression of the Selection?"

The answers flowed together, with no transitions.

"It's very interesting, especially since we are from all around the world. We can't ignore the language barrier, but I think it will be a fun experience!" – Prince Jericho, of the Oceanian Nations.

"Fun! Definitely fun, yes. I do not know the other boys very well just yet, but those I have spoken with all seem like wonderful young men, and I think we will get along great, despite the competitive nature of our being here. Illéa is great, too. I have been in a lot of places in my life, but this is the first time I am in Illéa, and I have to say, it is very different from home! All good things, though!" – Prince Aleksander of Swendway.

"Hmm… We are all supposed to be trying to gain Princess Eliza's heart, but love is the furthest from everyone's mind. We are all thinking about treaties and trade deals, rather than the princess." – Prince Cian, form the United Kingdoms of Ireland.

"Woah! This is huge! I'm super excited, and I hope to meet lots of new people!" – Prince Adrien of Monaco.

"This is really a huge event, but I'm glad to meet again with some extended family members, like Tom, CJ, or Sebastian. I'm also happy to make new acquaintances, and to discover so many new cultures that I only knew from books!" – Prince Caspian of New France.

"At first I never did understand what a Selection was but once I learned it was a normal custom of Illea and I was going to be a participant I decided to keep a positive outlook for this whole new experience...and of course as long as I got my books and writing materials I knew I would be alright!" – Pastor Otávio Nobre, Brazilian Districts.

"I find the whole concept a bit strange, but it's better than how India handles royals dating. All the royalty in India has women or men of good breeding or children of parliament chosen for dates." – Prince Rama of the Indian and Bangladesh Kingdoms.

"Surprisingly less serious than I was expecting: people were actually socializing for fun, joking around, and playing with pets." – Prince Kwasi of the United Nations of Africa.

"It sounds like a concept from a Young Adult novel." – Prince Haruhito of Mikasa, through the unsure translator.

And on and on it went. The answers varied from "I'm really excited about this" to "This is stupid." And Eliza agreed with most of them, on both sides...

 **-.-**

There was another break in the interviews, with some pictures of the Ball, where the Selected were huddled around something, and Aliza noticed it was Elvis the Sugar Glider! After those images, there was a film of her petting Elvis with a grin on her face. Thank God they hadn't films when she screamed when the little animal jumped out of the pocket. She couldn't have lived that down.

Ruby spoke again, off camera: "What is your first impression of Princess Elisabeth?"

This time, they took the time to film the boys and their reaction to the question. Some blushed, others were stoic, and some more had no idea what to say…

"She seems nice and I can't say anything bad about her." Henryk chuckled. "At the beginning, I felt as if she was a little bit lost, maybe due to her time out of the spotlight, but I think she did everything right." _Thanks, Henryk_ , Eliza thought, grateful.

Tomlin seemed to think about the question. "Not what I was expecting, although, I wasn't even sure what I was expecting. She's caring, while also staying true to herself." He paused. "I admire her strength in her role especially during the Selection when all eyes are on her." He smiled at the camera.

Haruhito said something in Japanese, which his translator repeated in English: "Adern likes her, so she's got to be a good person."

"I think she's pretty kind and beautiful. I mean, I stepped on her toes and everything, and she just brushed it off," Quinlan said, chuckling.

"She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Cassius, Duke or Rome, said blushing.

"I definitely think she's pretty," Raphael said, "and I was worried that she would hold the fact that I'm not a royal against me, but she didn't." He chuckled. "I'd love to get to know her better, though, and she seems like someone who we can have lots of fun with."

"Oh, she seems lovely. I have not had the pleasure of her time other than our dance, but if I were to judge her solely on her skills on the dancefloor, I can say we will be getting along marvelously. I cannot wait to get to know her better!" Aleksander said with a wide grin.

"The Princess is a strong woman. She is taking her power back even though she had her 'normal' life torn away." Honest, and straightforward, by Prince Cian.

"My first impression of Eliza? Well, she did strike me as a scholar at heart. I see my own passion for education in her, and I'm glad. It's important to have an educated Queen to ensure nothing overly-consequential happens." Archduke Spencer cracked a grin at his own joke. "In all seriousness, she seems like a lovely lady and an even better Princess. The citizens of Illea are lucky to have such a devoted and proper royal family."

"My first impression was that she was even more charming, impressive, and beautiful in person. I find her a lovely and an interesting person to talk to." Jinhai paused, debating to say his thoughts out loud, and decided yes. "I found it amusing watching her get more and tipsier as the evening went on, and I look forward to getting to know her better."

"She appears very regal and kind. I hope to know more about Her Highness the next time we talk." There was a coldness to Nikolai's voice, like he was only being polite and not saying everything he had on his mind.

"She seems..." Hans trailed off, looking for a word he knew in English to describe Eliza. "Kind?"

"Girl on fire, beautiful woman with fiery red hair and a matching red dress," Sebastian said with a smirk.

"Princess Elisabeth seemed uncomfortable, both physically and emotionally. She didn't really seem to be listening to me when I tried to talk during their dance about the relationships between our countries. She seemed understandably stressed, though," Kwasi said. And Eliza remembered that conversation. She had tried to change the topic without sounding rude. Apparently, it hadn't work.

"Smart, independent, responsible, and resourceful. She also seems like fun!" Prince Latreall said, grinning.

 **-.-**

Eliza braced herself for the last part of her interview. If it was anything like the first part, she was going to die inside.

Now on-screen Ruby and Eliza were in the same frame, both talking to each other like friends. "Has any one of the suitors stood out to you more than the others?"

"That's a trick question, Ruby," Eliza said. "Some were so royal, you know? Even more so than me!" _Oh no_ , Eliza thought. _They didn't cut that out_. She cringed inside.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've been out of the spotlight for so long, living a normal – but amazing! – life, and I completely forgot how to royal. And those men are much better at it than me."

"Hm," Ruby said. "That's interesting. One that stood out particularly?" she asked again.

Eliza thought, tapping her index finger on her chin. "Oh, I know. The Military guy. I mean, did you see him?" she giggled. "I like a guy in a suit," she explained. "But I see that all the time. But the military uniform? And the boots? Now that something. And the Sugar Glider."

The boys on the side of the stage laughed. Clearly, they thought a tipsy Eliza was funny. Eliza wanted to hide six feet under. How could Ruby leave that in the video? Couldn't she have just asked her live questions?

On-screen Ruby burst out laughing. "What? Sugar Glider? What even is that?"

"Oh, and I met a cat, too. Master Adern was his name."

"A cat?" Ruby said, genuinely surprised.

"Yes. Ginger, like me. Fat, and with a tie and all. The cutest thing ever."

Ruby raised both eyebrows. "Who brought a cat to the Palace?"

"The New Asian Prince, I believe."

 **-.-**

With that, the video ended, and Eliza was holding her head in her hands, completely ashamed of herself. _Please don't talk to me, now, Ruby_ , she thought loudly. _No live questions. I'm really not up for it, now_.

"Well, there you have it!" Ruby said, coming back on the stage. You now have a good idea of the Princess' suitors, and starting next week, you will be able to vote for your favorite one!"

Eliza looked up. _What? How is that going to help?_ Maybe it was just so the people of Illéa thought they could participate in the Selection, too? Ugh.

Ruby glanced at Eliza and noticed she wasn't in a good state for Live questions. "And that's all the time we have tonight," she said instead, wrapping up the Report. "But stay tuned, because every week before the Report – starting next week – you will be able to watch a weekly recap video of the Princess' dates and exclusive interviews! Good night, Illéa!"

The credits started on the screen and they were off-line.

 **-x-x-x-**

Dinner was awkward. Eliza couldn't help it: she kept her eyes on her plate. She couldn't look at anyone. Millie seemed to be smug about it, though. Eliza kept her head down, not making eye contact with anyone, and ate very little. All this had taken away her appetite. Even dessert couldn't find a way to her stomach. She left her plate untouched and once the dishes were cleared away, she was the first one out of the dining room.

She headed to her bedroom, stripped her dressed without the help of Samantha and went in the shower. She stood under the water, turning it hotter than usual, and let it cleanse the whole ordeal away. How careless of her to drink like that! And how stupid of Ruby to put everything in! She said she would be editing it!

Once she was clean enough, she put on her pajamas and slipped under her covers. She didn't care that it was only nine o'clock. She needed to sleep all this off, and maybe no one would remember any of it the next day.

She turned and tossed, but sleep eluded her. Three hours later – around midnight – she decided to go for a walk. She slipped on some sweatpants and a hoodie, pulled the hood over her head, slipped on a pair of sneakers and tiptoed outside her room. There was a guard posted at her door, but it wasn't Linus. Good. She needed to be alone for a while.

She wandered around the Palace, not knowing where to go, but she didn't mind, as long as she could move and get away from her bed. Her steps led her to the kitchen, and she was surprised to see someone there who wasn't Andromeda.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, starting to close the door.

"It's fine, you can come in, Your Highness," Otávio said, inviting her to sit next to him. He closed his Bible. "I made some herbal tea. Would you like some?"

She sat across from him at the table – and not next to him – and nodded. "Yes, please." She remembered to take off her hood. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" she asked, looking at his book.

"It was the only moment and place I had for some alone time to read," he said. "I can ask you the same question: what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he asked. Eliza was surprised not to find any judgment in his voice. Curiosity, maybe, but mostly respect and something akin to kindness?

"I couldn't sleep, obviously," she said. "After tonight's fiasco on the Report, I wanted to sleep, but I just couldn't."

Otávio gave her a mug of tea. "I understand." He sat on the bench. "But maybe you should know most of the boys felt pretty bad for you. What Ruby did was not nice. She shouldn't have shown that interview."

"No, she shouldn't have. Or she could have asked me some Live questions, instead. She usually does that." Eliza sighed and held the warm mug with her hands. "What were you reading?"

Otávio smiled and opened the Bible where his bookmark was. "I was reading some Psalms."

Eliza sipped her burning tea. "Poetry, right?"

"Something like that." He sipped some tea, too. "I'm afraid it's in Portuguese, so I wouldn't be able to read one to you."

"You can maybe translate one?" she asked.

"Uhm, I can try." He put his mug down and turned a few pages. He chuckled. "This is actually the shortest Psalm. It has only two verses." He read it silently in Portuguese and tried out a translation on the spot. " _O praise the_ Lord _, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the_ Lord _endureth forever._ _Praise ye the_ Lord _."_

Silence filled the kitchen as Eliza let the words sink in. She hadn't heard anything from the bible or the Church for years. Last time she set foot in the Angeles Cathedral was for her grandfather's funeral, and then her father's Ascension to the throne.

"Thank you," she said, barely above a whisper, afraid to break the silence around them.

* * *

 _ **Hiiii! so yeah, quick update^^ I hope this wasn't too repetitive, but I really wanted to include most of what you gave me** (from the interviews) **without overdoing it, and I hope it worked at least a little. Let me know!** (and I'll do better next time^^)_

 _ **Several TWIW Companions have been added since the last chapter, different POVs from the boys! There are Alek, Kwasi, and Jericho (with Niko), and they are all set before the Selection. You'll see that it's really interesting to meet those guys in their "natural habitat" before seeing them in the Selection xD Thanks to** Sabinethefangirl **,** Michelle the Editor **, and** Doctor Kay Sorceress Supreme **for your One-shots! :D**_

 _ **I'll try to get around a Linus One-shot at some point, too...**_

 _ **And if you're not in the Discord chat and want to join us** (because we encourage each other to write, talk about memes and other stuff) **, here's the link** (without the spaces) **: discord . gg / bfY5mmT**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The weekend was free for everyone. Brunch was served from eight to eleven o'clock, and it was happy hour in the gardens and swimming pool.

After the fiasco of the Report, Eliza didn't want to see anyone. Even though Otávio told her some of the guys felt bad for her, she didn't want their pity or their mockery. It was all her fault, she shouldn't have drunken that much on a barely empty stomach.

But maybe Ruby was to blame. She did say she was going to edit the bad parts out. Why didn't she do it? Did she forget? But it didn't matter how many time Eliza wrapped her head around the question, what was done, was done. She couldn't undo it.

But it didn't alter the fact that she didn't want to see anyone. She slept until ten, slowly woke up and took a quick shower before putting a comfortable outfit – shorts, a large t-shirt, sneakers – and headed to the kitchens through the servants' stairway. She really didn't want to see anyone. When she got there, the whole kitchen was in an uproar, preparing the next meal.

"Your Highness," the Chef said, coming over. "Is there anything you need?"

She looked around, but noticed she was just bothering everyone. "No, I'm sorry. You're busy." She offered him an apologetic smile and walked out, up to the dining room where the Brunch was waiting. She braced herself, stared at the buffet table, and went there without looking anywhere else. She filled her plate with the usual – cinnamon rolls, fruit salad, and some bacon and eggs, to change – with a mug of hot chocolate and headed outside to eat alone.

"In a hurry, Your Highness?"

Eliza froze and turned around. A group of Selected was seated at the table, watching her. It was Kwasi who had asked the question.

 _Yes, I'm in a hurry to get the hell out of here._ "No," she said, instead. "Sorry, I didn't see you." Which was kind of true since she wanted to ignore everything and everyone. She slowly headed towards them and sat down on an empty seat. A quick look around the table told her there was Kwasi, Rafe, Rama, Adrien, and Spencer. They all stared at her.

"What?" she asked, slightly offended by their silence.

"You did quite the walk of shame, last night," Adrien said with a smirk. "I really didn't want to be in your shoes, though."

"Probably not," Eliza replied, her cheeks burning up at the thought of how embarrassed she had been. "You wouldn't be able to walk twenty meters. High heels are quite impractical and uncomfortable."

Adrien and Rafe burst out laughing. She did still have her wits despite the previous night.

Kwasi and Spencer didn't find it very funny, and Rama just stared at her, debating if she was being serious or not.

"Nicely said," Rafe said. "You handled that well. But I don't know why she did that. What's her name again? Diamond?"

"Ruby," Kwasi said. Apparently, he had a bullet list of everyone in his mind. "Ruby Wright."

"Right," Rafe said. "Ruby Wright." He bit in an apple. "Why did she do that?"

"Do what?" Eliza said. "Make a fool of me? I have no idea. But it's partly my fault, too. I had a little too much to drink."

"Maybe," Rama said. "But you were nervous."

"Thanks," she said, forking a piece of fruit. "Weren't you guys nervous?" she asked. "Oh, and, by the way, I'm really sorry about our conversation during our dance, Kwasi," she said, forking another piece of fruit. "Political conversations do not make good friends with Champagne. But I'll be glad to get back where we left off."

Kwasi chuckled. "We didn't even start. But thanks. I appreciate it."

She looked at her five co-eaters at the table. "Anything planned for this weekend?"

The boys looked at each other. "What do you mean, _plans_?" Kwasi said.

Eliza's fork stopped mid-air. "You mean Henri didn't tell you?" When they said no, she told them that they were free to do whatever they wanted during the weekend, as long as it was in the Palace compound. No sessions with Henri, and no cameras. Ruby also needed her weekends. The only two people working were King Oliver and his wife, if there was something to look over.

"Good to know," Rafe said, leaning back on his chair and swinging on the two back legs of the chair. "I'll have a look around the Palace to see what there's to do."

Eliza saw it from miles away and could have maybe said something about it, but when Rafe swung too far backward, he actually fell from his chair with a loud noise resonating in the dining room. Adrien and Rama burst out laughing, Eliza smirked behind her cup of hot chocolate, and Kwasi and Spencer shared an annoyed look. Rafe quickly got up, put his chair upright and sat. "Yeah, I would be laughing too," he said. "That must have been very funny."

Just then, a group of boys walked in.

"Is there still time for brunch or are we too late?" Cian asked.

Eliza took out her phone and checked the time. "I think you've got fifteen minutes left."

"Good."

The four boys – Cian, Alek, Quin, and Henryk – quickly headed to the buffet and joined Eliza and the others at the table. No one mentioned the Report, and Eliza was happy about that. Rafe told the other guys that they had free reign for these two days.

"Yeah, we know," Cian said. "Henri told us. You were probably not paying attention."

"What? When did he say that?" Kwasi asked, panicked. He usually listened to every single rule.

"Just before the end of the session," the Irish Prince said. "But everyone was already starting to leave."

Eliza chuckled. "Real school boys."

 **-x-x-x-**

 _ **Eliza's Room, Illéan Palace.**_

After the Brunch, Eliza spent some time alone with herself in her sitting room, reading a book – she hadn't done that in ages! She needed to stretch out her legs so she went to open her window for some fresh air and saw lots of the Selected in the gardens. Some of them in swimsuits enjoying the pool or the sun, others playing soccer in the grass.

"Oh, my," she mumbled to herself. "I never realized I'd have such a good view from here." She chuckled. "And the gardener is going to go mad when he sees the soccer cleats destroying the perfect lawn."

"Talking to yourself?"

Eliza whirled around to see her sister coming in, unannounced. "Millie," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after last night. I'm really sorry about what happened."

Eliza shrugged. "Partly my fault, though. I shouldn't have had four glasses of Champagne."

"But it was understandable," Millie said. "You were nervous and all." She smiled and looked out the window, too. "Ooh, nice view."

Eliza laughed softly. "Yeah."

Both sisters were silent for a moment.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Millie asked. "You're gonna be the only girl, all eyes will be on you. Especially if you wear a bikini."

"That's not going to happen," Eliza said.

"Why not?" She pointed at the guys outside. "You have twenty-three guys just for you. Enjoy!"

Eliza shrugged. "You shouldn't be saying this, Millie. You have Alaric."

Millie shrugged. "So? Can't I enjoy a bunch of half-naked guys?" she chuckled darkly. "Besides. Al is not really what I envisioned for myself."

"Are you kidding? He's a great guy! And loves you. And you're cute together."

Millie snorted. "Cute is not a word I want to be associated with me. I'm a Princess. I should be fabulous." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked away. "Enjoy those guys while you can. The moment you chose one, at the end, you're gonna be stuck with him for the rest of your life," she said, stopping at the door. "And a Queen can't divorce." She flashed her sister a grin and walked outside.

Eliza was completely baffled. Since when her sweet, caring, cute sister had turned into this woman? Eliza didn't recognize her. Maybe it was just the nerves of the Selection getting on them both. But Millie was right on one point: she needed to go enjoy herself. Weekends were camera-free, and she could start making friends, right?

She went to her walk-in closet, went for the bathing suit-section and chose a one-piece green vintage-y looking bathing suit and slipped a sundress over it. She stuffed a towel, sunglasses, her book, a hat, and her phone in a large beach bag, put on some sunscreen – so she wouldn't have to do that in front of the boys – and headed outside. This was summer, for crying out loud! And she was going to enjoy it as much as she could.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Duke of Arenberg, Prince Sebastian, Palace Gardens._**

Sebastian had taken all morning to find a soccer ball in the Palace, asking around the staff members. But in a Palace where only two princesses had been raised, he had lost hope to find one. Until he bumped into Duke Alaric, Princess Millie's boyfriend, in the Men's room, reading a car magazine. Maybe he knew where there was a soccer ball?

"Hey, Alaric, right?" Sebastian said, coming over.

"Yeah? Sorry, I can't tell you guys apart," he replied, chuckling.

"That's fine. I can't tell us apart either." They both laughed. "Hey, uhm, I was wondering if you knew where I could find a soccer ball in this place?"

Alaric burst out laughing. "Not a chance. Millie and Eliza aren't really soccer girls. But I have one or two at my place."

"And where is that?"

"Beverly hills. Ten minutes from here." Alaric put down his magazine and stood. "Wanna come along?"

"Uh, I'm not sure I can," Sebastian said, cracking his knuckles nervously.

"Right. You know what, I'll go get them, if you let me play, too?"

Sebastian grinned and extended his hand. "You've got yourself a deal. Striker or defender?"

"Defender." Alaric replied, shaking the Selected's hand. "I'll be back in thirty minutes." With that, the Duke left and Sebastian found some other guys and asked around to create some kind of soccer team or two.

Around noon, once everyone had eaten and Alaric was back, a group of seven guys walked out, ready to tackle a ball. Some were wearing soccer cleats, other plain sneakers.

From a distance, Alaric kicked the ball and Sebastian caught it, grinning. It had been too long since he had touched a ball. "Guys, you remember Alaric? Princess Emilia's boyfriend."

Alaric shook hands with all the boys present, who all told him their names. "Sorry, I'm probably not going to remember all of that," he said laughing.

Sebastian and Rance chose the teams, and four of them took off their shirts to create some kind of goals, and the four others put their t-shirts at the four corners of the field.

"Okay," Sebastian said. "Let's do this." He cracked his knuckles again.

They took their places on the field: three in each team on the field, one in each goal.

Sebastian, Alaric, Otávio and Quinin one team, and Alek, Rance, Tomlin, and Adrien in the other. As they played, more guys came out of their rooms and sat on the side of the field to watch them play. Alek and Rance both tried to focus on the game, but half-naked guys kind of came in the way. And since they were on the same team, it didn't help. Their team lost the first game. But Tom encouraged everyone to play well and they started a second game.

That's when Eliza came out, wearing a nice blue sundress and some sneakers – _again? Didn't she own other kinds of shoes_? Sebastian thought – and she joined the other guys on the side of the field. Sebastian and the other soccer guys upped their game. If the Princess was watching, better be good.

Eliza watched for some time, more interested in the bare chests running around and talking with the guys on the side than the game itself. After a while, she was getting burned by the sun – being pale skinned and a redhead didn't help – so she suggested to the non-playing guys to head to the swimming pool, where Jinhai and Raphael were already swimming laps.

She noticed Haruhito and Hans still fully clothed, even in long sleeves, and keeping to themselves in the shade on lounge chairs. Haruhito was on his laptop with a headset and his cat Adern on his shoulders while Hans was reading a book. Niko and Jericho were talking together on another pair of chairs, with only Jericho in his swimsuit. Niko didn't seem very keen on taking off his formal clothes.

Eliza slipped in the water, enjoying the cool relief of the cold water on her too-warm skin.

Jinhai and Raphael joined her on the steps of the pool.

"So," she said, trying to start a conversation with them. "You guys are good swimmers?"

Raphael shrugged. "Not particularly. I love all kinds of sport, though."

"I can stay hours in the water," Jinhai said in accented English. "It helps me calm down when I'm stressed."

Eliza smiled. "I wish I had something like that, to reduce stress."

Just then, the soccer boys came to the swimming pool, needing to freshen out after an hour of running in the Angeles summer sun. They took off their shoes and came into the water, too. The pool was large enough for everyone, but they somehow all came around Eliza. She felt a bit overwhelmed by all these guys watching her, so she went lower on the steps, the water coming up to her collarbones.

Quin and Rance stood at the other end of the pool, a few meters away from the edge.

"One, two, three!" they said at the same time, ran for the pool, jumped, and both did a bomb dive, splashing everyone, even the ones on the lounging chairs.

"Seriously?!" Haruhito said in perfect English. "My computer!"

Everyone turned to look at him. "Wait," Tomlin said. "You can speak English?"

Haruhito became red pretty quickly. "Yes," he finally said.

Eliza laughed, and the others joined in. They all chatted in companionable fun, and most of the guys showed off their torsos and muscles. The rest of the guys – Xander, Caspian, CJ, Cian, Spencer, Henryk, Kwasi, Latreall, Rafe, and Rama – joined them in the pool or sat on the edge, joining in the conversation.

Eliza noticed how some of them were really athletic, when others were more on the thin and gangly side. But she also noticed some of the guys noticed each other. Eliza wanted to laugh at that. Why did other countries send in gay or bisexual princes to fight for her hand? But them she bitterly remembered that this was mostly about politics, that she was a piece in a larger game, and that this was about making allies. Her heart sank. Would she even find someone to love, maybe someone who would love her back? And that it wouldn't only be about politics?

"I'll be right back," she said, walking out of the water, and feeling dozens of eyes on her legs. She quickly took out the towel from her bag, wrapped it around her body and headed inside.

"Whew," Sebastian said. "She's got some legs."

Raphael slapped him on the arm. "Have some respect for the lady."

"She was staring at us," Henryk said. "We can stare at her. It's a win-win situation."

Tomlin chuckled. "I agree with the Pole."

The guys laughed and they started to compete on the best bomb dive. Those who didn't want to get wet pulled their lounge chairs away from the pool and watched from a distance.

"She's back," Sebastian said grinning. "Welcome back, Princess!"

"Thanks!" Eliza said, matching his sarcasm. "I brought something for us," she said, putting the tray she way carrying on a table. "Watermelon, ice cream, Lemonade, and beers."

"Aw, yes!" Rance said, taking a beer and popping it open with his teeth. "Illéan beer?" he said, reading the label, skeptical.

"Yes," Eliza said. "I personally think it's the best brew in the country." She grinned, took a bottle for herself, and popped it open with a bottle opener. She took a swig. "You've already all seen me drunk, anyway."

The guys chuckled and joined in. Not everyone took a beer, but everyone went for the ice cream and the watermelon.

The rest of the day was spent cooling down in the pool, bomb diving, drinking beer and/or lemonade, and eating watermelon and ice cream. Even the guys who were alone at first joined in, and everyone had fun. It was really freeing not to have any cameras around and simply enjoying being silly and having fun.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Princess Millie, Eliza's room, Illéan Palace._**

Unknown to the Selected and Eliza having fun and drinking beer in the garden, Millie was filming and taking pictures with her phone. After blackmailing Ruby to put the interview unedited, she would sell those pictures to the highest bidder for the newspapers and People's Magazines. The extra money could always get in handy for her next school.

Or to buy herself an Armani bag. It'll depend on her mood.

* * *

 _ **Hi!**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for all your support on this story and TWIW Companions! I really love reading them, and I can't wait to post the two others I have in the waiting line ;) And thanks, also for all your reviews and the conversations on Discord! it's really fun to hang out with you guys :D**_

 _ **I'll see you soon, either with the next chapter, or with a Companion^^**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

On Monday morning, when Samantha brought Eliza a clipping of the **_ILLEAN TIMES_** , the few pictures sent chills down her spine. How did these pictures get out? Who took them? In one picture, Eliza was drinking beer in her bathing suit. In another, you could see some of the guys on the side, reading books. _Did they chicken out on the whole pool thing?_ Was written underneath. In another one of the pictures, one of the Selected was wearing a pair of swim trunks with flowers on it. Probably Jericho, but she wasn't sure. Eliza noticed Haruhito wearing a jacket? Or was it a sweater? She brought the paper closer to her eyes, trying to read what was on his sweater, since she didn't notice it on Saturday:

 _Why hang out with People when you can hang out with Cats?_

She chuckled. But she was still angry. Was it someone from the staff? Looking at the point of view of these pictures, they had been taken from the second or third floor.

She read the article that went with it:

 ** _PRINCESS ELISABETH MAKES A MOCKERY OF TRADITION_**

 _Princess Elisabeth proves once again that she is and always will be a wild college party girl, rather than a worldwide public figure and diplomat. Pictures leaked from the castle last Saturday showed Princess Elisabeth entertaining her suitors in a rather unique way. Scantily clad in a swimsuit, and in the presence of only her suitors, Elisabeth proved she not only has no inhibitions about being half-naked with no chaperones around, but she also has a massive drinking problem. How can we forget that Report, showing Elisabeth blatantly drunk while welcoming suitors from countries around the world? As Princess and Heir to the throne, it's fair to hold her to a standard of being able to maintain sobriety at diplomatic functions._

 _Princess Elisabeth, even though you were able to party it up in Waverly clubs (oh, yes, we all still remember!) don't forget you have a job that comes first._

(By H. G. Bear)

She groaned. This was not how it was!

 **-x-x-x-**

"No!" Millie grumbled. "They weren't supposed to say this. Ugh!" She read the article in the **_ANGELES SUN_** again, just to make sure she hadn't read it wrong:

 ** _SELECTION: SUMMER ROMANCE OVER POLITICAL INTRIGUES_**

 _Illéan Palace, Los Angeles – The Selection has begun, and the first free weekend of the foreign suitors and Crown Princess Elisabeth has arrived. Insider sources providing photos exclusively to The_ Angeles Sun reveal _that the princess, alongside the suitors, spent the day in the gardens of the Illéan Palace._

 _The initial worries of the Illéan population that the foreign royalty, nobility and visitors only participated to gather insider information on Illéan politics as well as push our beloved country into the brooding New Asian-Mongolian war are proven false, as these photos confirm. The suitors spent the day at the private pool of the royal family alongside the Crown Princess, apparently rather as friends than politicians. The New Asian suitor, Prince Haruhito of Mikasa, and the Mongolian suitor, Prince Yao Jinhai, can clearly be seen talking on one of the photos, and even leaving together afterward. The unusual couple of archenemies were also briefly seen together at the welcome ball held earlier this week._

 _This effort can be contributed to the Crown Princess who was seen inviting all visitors to eat together, clearly breaking the boundaries of protocol and etiquette. It seems like the Selection will be about love and not political alliances after all._

(by Millyna Herring)

Millie crumpled the newspaper in her hands. She did not sell these pictures for some positive article on the Selection. She wanted Eliza to be a scandal to her people. An unworthy Princess. Only she was worthy of the throne. She had never left, always did was what was best for her people, who actually knew her! If they knew Eliza the way she did, they wouldn't welcome her back like this.

She stomped out of her room and to the woman's room where stacks of magazines were usually brought in. She had to make sure there were at least one or two negative articles that would undermine her sister.

She went through the magazines, leafing through the pages. She should have sold the pictures to more newspapers and magazines, because she couldn't find any. Why wasn't that _TeenQueen Magazine_ here? It usually came out every Monday, and they usually ranted about celebrities. She rummaged through the magazines but couldn't find it.

After a fruitless search, she stomped to her office. She still had some things to go through for her next school in Sumner. They were still a bit short on the material donations and on the money. But nothing new there. Even with the pictures sold, they still needed half a million dollars. Which was half of what they needed in total. The building had already been started and now they needed funds to build the roof. Then they'll need to buy furniture and start on the classrooms and other school things. She sighed. She knew she had a lot more pictures to take and sell if she wanted to get that other half million. And with the Selection going on, it was really helping. People weren't interested in her schools, anymore. They all had their eyes on Eliza.

Maybe… just maybe if she could snap a very inappropriate picture, something that would totally undermine Eliza, she could sell it at a really high price and get all eyes back on her. Yes. That was a plan. If only Eliza could do something else than just drinking. Because that was not enough, apparently.

Her phone buzzed on her desk and she answered.

"Yes?"

"Hey babe, it's me." Alaric was all smiles and sweetness. As always.

"Al, hi!" she said, her voice a bit too bright. "How are you?"

"Great. Hey, listen. I just wanted to let you know I'm gonna be out of town for a couple days."

"Okay? What for?"

"I can't tell you," he said, and there was a smirk in his voice. "But I promise you're gonna love it."

"If you say so." She paused. "I'll see you soon, then."

"Yeah! Love you, babe!"

"Hm-hm," he nodded and ended the call. Why did he call just to say that? As if she cared if he was out of town for a couple days. It didn't change anything in her life. She still needed to decide if she was going to use that money for the school, or an Armani bag she's had her eye on for a few weeks. The latest one, and the most expensive of the Summer Collection. She opened her computer and typed in the address. The Armani bag popped up, and her heart fluttered at the sight. Should she?

But the half-million missing for the school still bugged her in the back of her mind. She decided on the school. There would another Armani – or Gucci – bag in the fall. So she sent the money on her Charity account. It was only five thousand dollars, but it was something.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Prince Cassius – aka CJ –, Italy; Men's Parlor._**

"Hey guys! Look what I found," CJ said, coming into the Men's Parlor. Henri was not there yet. He was holding a magazine and put it on a table, opened at a double page.

"Hey, who took that picture?" Kwasi asked, leaning over the shoulders of a group of guys huddled around the table. "I thought it was Camera-free, this weekend."

"Someone took pictures and leaked them," Tomlin said. "Happens all the time." He rolled his eyes. "And since Ruby was not here and no paparazzi were here, either, it can be anyone."

"You think it's a staff member?" Caspian asked.

Tomlin shrugged. "No idea. But whoever did that must've sold these for a good amount of money. So yeah, maybe someone in need of money."

"What does it say?" Raphael asked from a chair.

"It's from a Teen's Magazine," CJ said. "It's not very intelligent stuff."

Tomlin snorted. "Articles with leaked photos are never intelligent."

"Speaking from experience?" Rafe teased the New English Prince, who just swatted his arm.

"Shut up, man." The boys around chuckled.

"Seriously, though," Raphael said. "Someone read it out loud."

"Fine," CJ said. "But I warn you, it's not poetry." He took the magazine and cleared his voice. " ** _INSIDE LOOK: ELISABETH AND HER PALACE HOTTIES!_** " CJ rolled his eyes at the title, and some of the boys laughed at the title.

 _"Exclusively released pictures showed Princess Elisabeth entertaining her many hunky suitors in the palace last Saturday. Not only is Eliza-bae looking bomb AF in that swimsuit but she's killing it with all those guys! Look at those smiles! Save one for me, because I know you can't have them all, Elisabeth! We can only hope more juicy photos like these come from the palace. Whoever the secret submitter is, keep them coming! Until then, keep coming back to TeenQueen Magazine for more of the best news the royal family has to offer._ And it's written by a woman, I assume, named H. Gummie Bearsly."

The boys laughed.

"It is not negative," Hans said a little shyly. "Poor Eliza if the country not like her."

" _If the country doesn't like her_ ," Rama corrected him. "But yes, you're right." He paused. "If Ruby and whoever sent these photos want to undermine her, we need to prevent it. We need to show them that she's a perfect Princess. Don't you think?"

"I agree," Kwasi said. Others nodded, too.

"It's not our job," Rafe said. "She's a grown up. She can handle herself."

"Yes, she can handle herself," Spencer said. "But not if the whole world is against her. She's swimming in crocodile-infested waters. And trust me when I tell you that it's no fun." Speaking from New Australia, he knew what he was talking about.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Henri said coming in the Men's Parlor. The Selected stopped talking and took seats around the room – couches, armchairs, chairs, with or without tables, it wasn't a classroom – and waited for Henri to talk. You didn't mess with Henri. And when he talked you didn't talk.

"I'm sure some of you saw the article. It's bad," Henri started.

"What?" Rafe said taking the magazine, chuckling. "It was clearly positive. I quote: _Eliza-bae looking bomb AF_ , and _hunky suitors._ What's bad about that?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Henri asked, coming over and taking the magazine. "Bloody hell," he said, his British accent coming out. He never showed it, before. He took the magazine to his desk. "I was talking about the one in the **_ILLEAN TIMES_** _._ " He read the article for the boys, the one stating that Eliza was a drunk princess unfit for the Throne.

There was silence in the room.

Until Caspian spoke up. "This is ridiculous! Why would someone want to undermine her like that?"

Henri shrugged. "In Illéa, Royals are kind of seen as legends. With everything Princess Emilia does for her country, and what all the royal women have done for past generations, they are legends. They're Princesses and Queens practically out of fairy tales." He paused. "Princess Elisabeth is not really like them."

"Because she decided to study and get three degrees? Most of these people don't even have _one_ degree," Adrien said.

"And she actually knows how the real world works," Otávio added. "Most Royals, no offense," he said to his royal co-selected, "sometimes don't know their people. I believe she lived just like them, with no special treatment."

"Which makes her not as good a royal as they expect her to be," Nikolai said, coldly.

"That's why Rama was right," CJ said. "It's our job to show them that Eliza is the perfect Princess. She's going to be their Queen, at some point, and one of us is going to be her Consort."

Henri nodded. "That's actually a good idea. What do you suggest?"

"No more childish dates," Raphael said. "Formal ones, with dinner, and well dressed. If they want to see a Princess, we'll give them one."

"And what do you do of the Mongasian War?" Tomlin said. "No offense," he said to Haruhito and Jinhai. "But the people are probably wanting some political stuff to happen. Illéa probably needs to take a side, right?"

"No, they don't _need_ to take a side," Henri said. "And maybe leave the politics out, for now. Her Royal Highness specifically asked that, until the first round of dates is over."

"Right," Kwasi said. "But then what do we talk about with her? if not alliances, economic and government topics?"

"Maybe get to know her?" Quin said, rolling his eyes. "Have you ever dated someone before, Kwasi?"

Kwasi blushed. Or at least it seemed like he blushed. His dark skin kind of hid the blush. "Yes, I have." But he wasn't going to add that it was only double dates with another couple, on his sister's assistance. How he hated those dates.

"Okay," Henri said, before it escalated. "As long as the cameras are tagging along, the date should be something simple and-"

"Boring?" Cian prompted. "Because seriously? She's going to be bored out of her mind if she has to dine with every one of us alone. Or with a third wheel such as Ruby, which I don't think is that good of an idea, considering the Report, and those articles."

"I don't think Ruby has anything to do with the articles," Henri said. "She wasn't even here this weekend."

"Then who did it?" Xander said. "She could have paid someone to take these pictures."

"We're still interrogating the staff." Henri sighed. "Not boring dates, but not going outside the Palace walls either. If you're going to give them a true Princess – which I don't doubt a second that she is – then let's give them a Princess in the Palace."

"Can I ask a question?" Rance said, raising his hand like he was in school.

"Sure," Henri nodded.

"When was the last time Illéa had a Queen, and not a Queen Consort?"

Henri thought for a moment. "The last four rulers were Kings with Queen Consorts. So it's been some time."

"Exactly," Rance said. "Maybe we should show them a Queen. A Queen who isn't afraid to mix with her people. Not a Disney Princess. They always need Princes to save their butts. Eliza can save herself. Let's give them a Queen!"

The boys nodded, agreeing with the New Zealand prince, although not all were fond of the Disney reference.

"I mean, seriously," Rance continued. "Have you seen the Queens in Disney movies? They're killers! Princesses are soft and need saving. Look at Queen Elsa!"

The Selected, and even Henri, laughed.

"What? It's true," Rance said. "Queens are better than Princesses."

A couple hours later, after debating and talking about dates that could be done properly, Eliza came in. This time, she was dressed in a high waist knee-length blue skirt with a striped t-shirt, and some brown flats. _Probably because of that stupid article,_ CJ thought.

"Hi," she said, offering them a tight smile. She surveyed the guys, and noticed the New Asian Prince with another crazy sweater that read _I'm not single, I have a Cat_. She chuckled lightly. "I'm here to pick two names for today, one this afternoon, and one this evening." Henri gave her the box and her hand hovered above the opening. She dived her hand in and took out a paper. "Jinhai," she read.

Jinhai nodded, waiting for the other one to be picked out.

"Tomlin," Eliza said, reading another paper.

Both guys exchanged a glance. "I'll go tonight if you'll go this afternoon?" Tomlin asked to Jinhai, who nodded,

"Sure. And we'll organize the dates."

"Excellent, thank you," Eliza said. "It's settled. Just so you know, there is going to be Ruby with another guy, filming and/or taking pictures."

Both guys nodded, and she left. She was already nervous about the whole day. What else was she going to do wrong, this time?

 **-x-x-x-**

"My dear Eliza," Andromeda said, joining her granddaughter in the library a few moments before lunch. "How are you?"

"Fine, I guess." Eliza shrugged and put the book she had finished back on the shelf. Now she needed to find another one. Or maybe she shouldn't read at all. Maybe she should focus on her Selection, on politics, and on not screwing everything up.

"No, you're not fine," her grandmother said kindly. "Come sit with me." She took her granddaughter's hand and they sat on a couch in the grand library. "What's the matter, dear?"

Eliza sighed. "Have you seen the article?"

Andromeda smiled. "I did. But there were others, too. Don't focus on the negative ones."

"But it was in the **_ILLEAN TIMES_** , which means _everyone_ in the country read it." Her shoulders slumped.

"Maybe, but it was just the point of view of _one_ journalist. Whoever sent these pictures sent them to many magazines and newspapers. Which means lots of points of views."

"I know," Eliza said. "I just hate to see my picture like that. I feel so used."

"I know exactly how you feel, dear. We've all been there. You'll get used it again, I promise." She sighed. "So, who are you going on a date with today?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Jinhai this afternoon, and Tomlin this evening."

"Ah, two very good men."

"Really? What did you learn about them that could help me not screw things over?"

Andromeda chuckled lightly. "From the little I gathered on Jinhai, he's going to be a little nervous, too. He told me he traveled a lot in the Mongolian Empire, so maybe talking about that would be a nice start. As for the suitor from New England, I think he's very laid-back. Or at least he pretends he is. I'm not sure. Oh, and he plays polo."

Eliza chuckled. "Yeah, and he shipped his horse to Illéa."

"What? Really?"

"Yes. I saw him in the stables the other day. I think he said his horse's name was Lady."

Andromeda chuckled. "Well, there you have a good conversation start, right?" She squeezed the Princesses' hand. "And I don't think you can do anything wrong. It's just a date. Get to know the guys."

Eliza took a deep breath and nodded. "Thanks," she said. "Really. I don't know what I would do without you grandmother."

"You would do perfectly fine. Now let's go eat some lunch, shall we?"

* * *

 _ **Hi! so yeah, I hope you enjoyed the interaction between the guys! I tried...**_

 _ **And also, I had 5 words** (chicken - book – picture – jacket - flower) **to put in the first paragraph, thanks to the Discord Chat, and I did it! you can probably find those five words. haha. anyway.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, reviewing, and sending in Companions, date ideas, other suggestions, I'm taking it all! :D Thanks also** Milly **and** Gummy **for the newspaper and magazine articles! That was really helpful and fun to work with! :D**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	15. Chapter 15

As instructed, Eliza went down the stairs to meet Jinhai on the kitchen floor. He had hinted at a baking afternoon, and she was nervous about it. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually baked something edible. She could cook pasta and make an okay sandwich – and she was still wondering how she survived five years of college – but she couldn't really make a cupcake.

She was wearing a beige A-line knee-length skirt – with _pockets_ where she could put her phone in – with a white blouse and a pair of black flats. No sneakers this time. There would be Ruby with a photographer/cameraman, so she didn't want to screw everything up again. But what could go wrong with baking? Besides burning the whole Palace down?

Jinhai was waiting just outside the kitchens in a semi-casual outfit that could still be considered casual when he took the blazer off, with a giant red-rose-and-baby's-breath bouquet. Eliza really wasn't expecting that and grinned.

"Oh, wow," she said. "They're beautiful!" She took the elaborate bouquet and brought it to her nose. The roses smelled incredible! "I haven't been given flowers in like… forever?"

Jinhai grinned shyly and bowed his head. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like them."

"I do," she said. "Shall we? I'm sure there's a vase I can find in the kitchen."

Jinhai nodded and then opened the door for her. They stepped in and the whole kitchen staff stopped what they were doing. Bows and curtsied went around the kitchen and Eliza was kind of surprised at that. The staff was used to seeing Eliza in the kitchen from time to time, and she told them not to bother with etiquette in the middle of their work. So they must have been following etiquette for the foreign prince.

A kitchen maid quickly came over. "Should I put the bouquet in a vase, Your Highness?"

"Yes, please. Thank you." She handed over the bouquet, and the Chef guided the couple in a smaller room where the wooden table had been cleared and ingredients and utensils were waiting for them. The kitchen girl came back with the bouquet in a vase and put it on the table.

"If you need anything else, please ask," the Chef said.

"Thank you," Jinhai replied, bowing his head lightly.

A moment later, Ruby and her sidekick – Eliza really needed to ask his name at some point since he was always going to tag along, apparently – came in.

"As usual, don't mind us," Ruby said. "We're only taking a few pictures and some footage. Then we'll leave you alone and come back to see the result of your hard work. Okay?"

Jinhai and Eliza nodded, not knowing what else to say. While Ruby and the guy – Lucas, his name was – set up their things, Eliza turned her back to them to ignore them more easily.

"So, what are we baking today?" she asked. "But I have to tell you I haven't done this in a long time." She chuckled awkwardly.

"Uh, I was thinking cupcakes, or maybe macarons?"

"Macarons!" Eliza said. "I love those."

"Good." Jinhai took off his blazer and slipped a paper out of his pocket with the recipe of his special macarons written on it. "I hoped you'd say that." A smirky smile appeared on his lips, and Eliza laughed lightly. This guy was so soft, and it was a nice change from all those tough guys in her Selection. They read the recipe, took out the needed ingredients, had to ask for some pink food coloring and some raspberries, and went to work. Ruby and Lucas clicked away and filmed a little, then they left them alone. Jinhai and Eliza didn't even notice them leaving.

While they were working on the pink batter, Eliza said: "So, I've seen you and Haruhito talk a lot. And I can only be curious about this. With your two countries being mortal enemies…" she trailed off.

Jinhai chuckled. "I thought you didn't want to talk about politics and the war?"

"Right," she said, focusing on her batter.

"We're not our fathers," he finally said. "Everyone seems to have their own thoughts on who we should be. But I think it's up to us to decide to live up to their expectations or ours. Don't you think?"

"Wise words." She paused. "But harder said than done."

"Yes."

After that, he showed how to make the perfect little mounds of batter with a piping bag. Once two baking pans were full, they put them in the oven, and they waited. The inside frosting was already ready and had to chill in the fridge for a while.

"What do you do for fun?" he suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Fun?" she chuckled. "I read, mostly. I used to go clubbing a little, but Linus usually brought me home before I could drink too much." She smiled, remembering their time in Waverly. "But yeah, reading, mostly. Or riding. I don't have much free time for doing something fun."

Jinhai chuckled. "That's why you wanted us to organize the dates? Because you didn't have ideas?"

Eliza blushed. Partly, yes. But she couldn't tell him that. "I wanted to get to know you guys. And what better than to let you show me what you guys did for fun?"

Jinhai nodded. "Okay. I won't tell, don't worry." He chuckled.

"Oh come on," Eliza said, blushing. "I didn't admit it."

"You didn't deny it either."

They chuckled and the timer beeped. Jinhai was the first at the oven. "If you leave them half a minute too long," he explained taking them out, "they'll be ruined."

He put the two pans on the table and it was a very satisfying sight. All these perfect pink circles perfectly aligned sent shivers down Eliza's spine. "Now what?"

"Now we wait a few minutes for them to cool. I'll get the filling." He went to the fridge to get the raspberry icing filling and Ruby and Lucas came in just at the same time.

"Ah! Perfect," Ruby said. "We get to see the end."

Eliza sighed, trying not to show her annoyance at Ruby being there. Ever since the Report, she was wary of her.

The Mongolian prince showed her how to put on the filling on half the cooked shells and to make the perfect macarons. Once they were all made, they rolled the sides in chocolate sprinkles and dusted them with powdered sugar.

"There, done," he said, grinning. Lucas clicked away. "Do you want to eat one?"

"Oh yes," Eliza said. "I didn't do all this just to watch them."

Jinhai laughed and offered the plate to Eliza who took a pink pastry and bit in it.

"Oh. My. God," she said, her mouth full. "I've never eaten a macaron this good!"

Jinhai tasted one too. "That's because I had a great assistant," he teased. And Eliza laughed. She took out her phone from her _pocket_ and they took a few selfies. Eliza was glad that this date had gone really well. She was on the right track.

 **-x-x-x-**

She was going back to her room after her first date of the day, going through the several selfies they had taken during the afternoon, when Lord Tomlin caught up with her as she was passing on the second floor.

"Your Highness?" he called out since she hadn't noticed him.

She looked up from her phone. "Oh, hi, Tomlin."

He smiled sheepishly and walked over with his hands shoved into his jeans pockets. "You have some flour on your cheek," he said, gently wiping it away. "Baking, huh?"

Pink rose in Eliza's cheeks as she wiped her face. "Yeah. We made a whole mess. It's powdered sugar, actually." She chuckled. "What can I do for you?"

"Uh, we, uh, have the evening date," he said. "And I was wondering if I could steal you away before dinner?"

"A dinner date?" she asked, trying to keep the dread away.

"Yeah, if that's okay with you?"

"Sure. Any recommendations for the dress code?" She didn't wasn't to be overdressed or underdressed.

"I don't know. Something nice. And something comfortable. I told Ruby only pictures, no filming."

Eliza chuckled. "And she agreed?"

"Yeah, I think so. But don't worry. If she's too overwhelming, I'll tell her to go away."

"That's a relief," Eliza said, half serious. "What time?"

Tom checked his watch. "In an hour?"

"Okay." She nodded and went on her way to her room. She fell on her bed, sighed, and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure she had enough energy to go to the evening date. But thank God it was only a dinner date. Nothing too crazy, there. Her breathing slowed and she fell asleep.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she woke with a start. It was a text message from Linus.

 **Linus** : There's a guy (Tomlin I think) waiting for you in the Entrance Hall?

 **Linus** : He's been waiting for like ten minutes…

 **Eliza** : shit shit shit. I fell asleep. Tell him I'll be there in a minute.

She scrambled off her bed, went for her walk-in closet and quickly went to her casual clothes section. A gown was out of the question, she didn't have time to put it on. But she needed to change. The pictures had to be different than the afternoon date. Without thinking, she went for a pair of skinny jeans, a large blue-gray t-shirt, a long gold necklace with a fake crystal pendant, and some white converse shoes. The word _comfortable_ rang in her head, completely covering the word _nice_.

She braided her hair on the side while running down the stairs, almost twisting her ankle in the process, and arrived breathless at Tomlin's side in the Entrance Hall. Linus was talking with the Prince, keeping him company while waiting for her.

"I'm so sorry," she said, catching her breath. "I fell asleep on my bed, and I woke up like five minutes ago."

Tomlin chuckled and looked at her outfit. That's when she noticed he was wearing something pretty similar – jeans, sneakers, a polo shirt, and an open leather jacket – and she sighed relieved.

"Nice and comfortable," he said. "Exactly what I had in mind. Shall we?" he said, picking up the backpack on the floor, which Eliza hadn't noticed until now.

"Yes." She pushed an unruly strand of red hair behind her ear. Both nodded at Linus who was left behind in the Entrance hall. Eliza kind of felt bad for him, but since Ruby was already third-wheeling them, Linus didn't have to come along. Besides, they were not leaving the Palace compound, right? So what could go wrong?

Ruby and the photographer trailed behind the couple as Eliza noticed they were heading to the stables. She chuckled. "Are we going to see your horse?"

"Yeah," Tom said. "I haven't seen her today, yet. Do you mind?"

"No, of course not."

Once there, Tom made all a show of taking care of his horse, making presentations to Eliza.

"Eliza, this is Lady. Lady, this is Princess Eliza. You remember, I told you all about her."

The horse neighed and stomped her foot on the ground.

"Don't worry, girl," Tom said. "You're still my favorite." He winked at Eliza who laughed.

Ruby and her sidekick took some pictures, asked them to strike a pose, and then when Lady was all pampered and happy, Tom and Eliza headed outside. The summer sun was still high in the sky and they walked to a nearby meadow, where Tom surprised Eliza by taking out a blanket from the backpack and started also taking out some picnic food.

"Wow, you've thought of everything," she said, standing on the side.

"Yeah, but you haven't seen it all yet," he said slyly. "You can sit down." He then nodded to Ruby that she could take some pictures, and then sent her away.

"Ugh, thank goodness," Eliza said, finally relaxing without the Lucas and Ruby.

"At least we know what pictures were taken," Tom said.

Eliza chuckled and picked a cherry tomato to nibble on. "You seem to be used to photographers."

" _Paparazzi's_ is the better word." He told her about how the paparazzi's and journalists made an idiot out of him, scared his dates away, and how he was bitter about them. "I don't want that to happen to you, too."

"A little late for that, don't you think?"

"Nah," he said, biting into a sandwich. "They've barely started. If you can control what pictures are taken, you can pretty much control your press image."

"But I can't control paparazzi's. And we still don't know who took those stupid pictures."

"I know," Tom said. "But hurry up eating or we're gonna be late."

"Late? Late for what?"

"The actual date," he said slyly. "This whole stable-and-picnic-outing was just a façade, something to throw them off."

Eliza chuckled. "What on earth have you planned, Tom?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You'll see." They quickly finished eating and then, just as the sun was going down behind the trees in the distance, they headed out.

"Seriously, where are we going?" she whispered.

"You don't need to whisper. This time of day is the best time to get out. Twilight will cover us. Come on!" They walked in the high grass until they came to the limits of the Royal Compound, which was marked out by an old high brick wall. Tom led her to a crack in the wall a few meters further down from where they were.

"Wait," Eliza said. "There's not supposed to be a crack in the wall. This is supposed to be highly guarded wall."

"It is," Tom said. "But the guards are rotating in a couple minutes, and the new ones will be arriving soon. Come on!" he climbed on the cracked wall and helped her up. Once on the other side, Tomlin sighed, content. "Free!" he chuckled.

"Tom, do you know where we are right now? How did you find this place?"

"I was riding the other day, and I stumbled upon this crack. And yes, I know where we are." He rummaged something in his bag and took out some things. "Here. Wear this, it'll hide your red hair, and but this bandana around your neck so you can cover your face in case we need to." He did the same for him, and then they walked down the road in silence for a while

When a yellow beetle car passed by, Tom extended his thumb to hitchhike and the car slowed down. The window slid open, and a female voice came out. "Where you guys heading?"

"Downtown," Tom said. "The Festival?"

"Oh good, I'm going there, too. Hop in!"

Tom went in the front, his basketball cap low on his head, and he thanked dusk for hiding him and Eliza. She went in the back, and made sure to hide her red braid under her cap. They were going to the Music Festival? How crazy was that! She had never gone, before. Because it was not _appropriate_ for a princess to go there. But going undercover? This was so exciting! She grinned and looked outside the window.

"So, what were you guys doing in the backwoods like this?" the girl asked.

"We've been hiking all day," Tom said, using the most illéan accent he could muster, which almost made Eliza burst out laughing and blow their cover.

"Oh, so the festival is the end of your hike?"

"Yeah," Tomlin said. "And thanks for driving by."

"No problem!"

They chatted like this for another ten minutes, until they arrived at the festival. Once there, they climbed out of the car, said thanks to the girl and went their own way.

"Okay," Tom said. "Now we need to lay low. If anyone recognizes us, we're screwed."

Eliza chuckled. "Yes, sir. By the way, your Illéan accent was pretty cute!"

Tom burst out laughing. "I tried." He went in, paid for two tickets, and she followed him in the crowd. She was so afraid to lose him in that crowd that she took his hand. "They're starting, come on," he said. "And put your bandana over your face. Lots of people do that." He pulled his over his nose and Eliza mimicked him and they went as close to the stage as they could. Above the crowd, acrobats were doing their thing, and Eliza was mesmerized by them for a while. Tom stared at Eliza staring at the acrobats. He grinned.

Eliza didn't know the band on the stage, but neither did Tomlin. She let the music envelope her, and swayed and jumped to the rhythm like everyone around her. The music and mood quickly changed to something more dramatic, with smoke and lights and people singing and crying and laughing and making out, all at the same time.

When the band was finished an hour later and another one was getting ready to take their place, Tomlin suggested they start heading home because it was getting late and they needed to catch the bus, and someone was bound to notice their absence. Eliza wanted to stay a bit longer, at least to listen to the first song of the new band, but Tom insisted they should go. So they went. They made their way through the people, ducking under sweaty arms and elbows going up and down. Eliza noticed most people were dressed crazily, with bandit bandanas over their faces. At least they didn't stand out. Some even had paintings all over their faces and bodies, and she actually wondered if they were wearing clothes at all.

"You're leaving early!" someone called out to them when they managed to get out of most of the crowd. It was the girl from the hitchhike ride. "Hey, I have some friends over there who have some drugs, if you want!" she yelled over the noise, a smirk on her face.

"Uuuuh, no thanks," Tom replied, yelling, too, before turning to Eliza. "Uhm, well, I mean unless you want to- I won't judge-"

Eliza burst out laughing. "As much as it could be fun, I don't think it's a good idea!"

"Oh come on," the girl said. "Don't you want to get high? It's summer break! It's the season to have fun!"

Tom and Eliza shared a glance and nodded. "Why not?" Eliza said. "Just to get high. Nothing too hard!"

"Okay!" Tomlin said. "But just one!"

Eliza nodded and followed the girl to a nearby tent. She pulled the entrance curtains open, revealing some people already passing around a couple joints. The air was stuffy, but Eliza sat down with an uncertain Tom next to her. Someone passed the joint to her, and she took a puff, coughed, and passed it on to Tom. He pretended to take a puff, too, and passed it to the guy next to him. He needed to keep his head clear if he was going to get Eliza back home safe. And if anyone recognized them, she was screwed. But no one in the tent – probably too high for that – would recognize her.

Eliza took two puffs in total of the passing joints. "I think we should go," she said, not sure anymore about this whole thing.

"Excellent idea," Tom said standing up. He offered her his hand. "Come on." He pulled the bandana over his face, fixed hers over her nose, and they walked out.

"Hey!" a visibly drunk guy said, coming over. "Are you sharing your girlfriend?"

"No," Tomlin said, trying to keep his calm. "I don't share her."

"Aw, come on, man! Everybody shares, here. Make Love, not War, right?" he chuckled and it turned out into a wet gurgle.

"Come on, let's go," Tom said, taking Eliza's hand to drag her away from the creepy guy. But the guy followed and was quickly at their side with his long strides.

"Share. If you come to this festival, you share the love." He started to grab Eliza's arm, but Tomlin was quicker, and sober. He punched the guy straight in the nose, making him let go of her arm. But the drunk guy wasn't satisfied with this. He called some friends lingering in the shadows around them, and five other men came out. Tom braced himself. The six guys – all drunk – came on him but he was able to counter them, at least for a while. Bloody hell, he had a princess to protect!

Eliza tried to help him, but an elbow – she didn't know who it belonged to – landed in her face, and she was knocked out for a few seconds. Tomlin grunted something, helped her stand up, and they ran away. Now more people had joined the fight, without noticing their escape.

"Are you okay?" he asked, running.

"I'm fine! How do we get back home, now?"

"I don't know!" he replied, still running. "I think we missed the last bus!"

She stopped on the side of the road, catching her breath, and took out her phone. "Let me call Linus."

"No!" Tom said, lunging for her cell phone. "Don't. He's gonna kill me if he knows we went outside."

Eliza glared at him. "Give that back!"

"Only if you don't call him."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll call my grandmother."

"Oh nonono, she's gonna kill me harder."

"No, she won't. Give me the phone."

"Can she even drive?" he asked, skeptical, handing her the phone.

"Of course, she can drive." She typed in her grandmother's phone number and put the phone to her ear. "She was a Four before she was Queen. She learned how to drive and it's still one of her fav- Grandmother!"

Tomlin braced himself.

"I'm fine. We're fine. Can I ask you a favor?"

"Where are you?" Andromeda asked, panic creeping in her voice. "Everyone's looking for you."

Eliza grimaced. "Tell everyone we've been riding and didn't see the time. But listen to me," she said. "Can you come pick us up?"

"With your horses?"

"No. Grandma, listen. We're at LA Beach, where the music festival is. It's a ten-minute drive from the Palace. Just tell everyone we're safe and that we're on our way back, okay?"

"Fine. Where are you exactly?" the older woman asked, annoyance dripping from her voice.

"I'll send you my location when we end the call."

"Fine." Andromeda ended the call, and Eliza sent her their location.

"What did she say?" Tom asked.

"She's pissed, and everyone's looking for us."

"Bloody hell."

"Yeah, you can say that again," she said, sitting on the sidewalk, waiting.

"Oh, my God, Eliza."

"What?" she said, annoyed. This evening did not turn out as planned. If there ever was a plan…

"Your eye. It's turning Blue. Green. Black?" He came closer to have a better look and Eliza stayed still. "They're gonna kill me," he muttered.

Eliza chuckled. "Relax. Sit down," she tugged his sleeve to make him sit down next to her. "You're a royal visitor, they can't lay a hand on you."

"You sure?"

"Yes. And if anything happens, I'll tell them it was my idea." She sighed. "Selfie?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Eliza, are you high?"

"No. Maybe? I don't know? Come on. I take a selfie at the end of every date."

Tom rolled his eyes and scooted closed to her. They took a couple of photos and then waited in silence after that. Fifteen minutes later, a small black car drove up and slowed in front of them. Only, Andromeda was not driving. It was Linus. Andromeda was on the other seat, avoiding her granddaughter's gaze.

Both Eliza and Tomlin got in the car, bracing themselves for the lecture and probably the killing, too. Because Linus was clearly _very_ unhappy about the situation. The silence in the car was heavy and palpable, and Eliza avoided everyone's gaze. She looked outside the window as a tear streamed down her face. She really couldn't do anything right, could she? The first date had been so fun. But this?

Tomlin silently rested his hand on hers and squeezed it. They were in this mess together, and he was not going to let her take the fall for this alone.

* * *

 _ **Hi! I hope you enjoyed this super long chapter! haha oops.**_

 _ **I created a new board only for Chapter Aesthetics, if you want to get a visual feeling of his chapter** (and some previous ones) **. It's called**_ FF - TWIW Aesthetics _ **.**_

 _ **Thanks for your amazing ideas and suggestions, these date ideas were suggested by** sevenzeroseven **(for Jinhai) and** Headless Gummy Bear **(for Tomlin) even if I tweaked that one a bit! xD**_

 _ **I'll see you seen for either a Companion or the next chapter! Thanks for your support, for reading, reviewing, writing Companion, and other Harry-Potter AU with TWIW characters xD it's always fun to read those!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Linus turned off the headlights of the car and drove slowly on the gravel to make as little sound as possible and stopped in the hangar, alongside the two limos and other vehicles the royals owned. He turned off the engine, but no one moved. Not even Eliza.

Tomlin was the first to stir after a while and he opened the door.

"What the hell?!" Linus bellowed. "What did you two think you were doing, huh?!"

"Lower your voice!" Andromeda hissed.

"Sorry," Linus said. "But seriously," he continued, a bit lower, getting out of the car. "What were you two thinking? It's three in the morning!"

Eliza just stood there, not saying anything.

"Is that weed?" Linus said, realizing the difference of smell from the garage air and car. He had been too angry to notice earlier. "You smoked weed. Great. Are you high?"

"No," Eliza said, the first word she spoke out loud since being picked up. "I'm not. And I'm sorry, okay? This was my idea, and it didn't turn out as planned."

"Wait, what?" Tomlin said. "No. it was entirely my idea, and-"

"I don't care _who's_ idea it was," Linus cut him. "It was stupid. What happened?"

Tomlin told him what that happened – keeping out some details – while Andromeda gently took Eliza in her arms. "Are you okay, darling?" she whispered in her granddaughter's hair.

Eliza nodded. But no, she wasn't fine at all. She had a black eye, she smelled of weed and Linus was mad at her.

Linus sighed and pulled at his hair. "That was the stupidest thing in the world. I can't believe you went there, smoked weed, _and_ started a fight. Did people film? Take pictures? Did anyone recognize you two?"

"I don't think so," Eliza said. "I didn't hear anyone mention anything about me, the royals, or the Selection."

"People were probably too high or too drunk to recognizes us, anyway," Tomlin muttered.

Linus shot him a glare filled with daggers. "You should go," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Now. And don't talk to anyone about this."

Tomlin quickly looked at Eliza for her permission to leave. She nodded and mouthed the words _thank you_ before he turned away and left.

"I'll walk you back to your room," he said curtly to Eliza. He bowed to Andromeda, grabbed Eliza's arm and they walked back to the Palace, keeping to the shadows. Once inside, they stuck to the Servant's passageways, so they wouldn't bump into anyone. After several flights of creaky wooden stairs and turns left and right, they stopped in front of the hidden door that would land Eliza a few meters away from her room.

Linus didn't let go of her arm, but his grip had softened along the way.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, boring his eyes into hers, pushing away a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her braid. She had lost her baseball cap in the escape from the fight. His fingers lingered on her skin, near the dark bruise around her eye.

"Yes," she said. "I'm fine."

"I was really worried about you," he continued, still not letting go of her. "And it's my job to take care of you."

"Linus," she said, sighing. "I'm an adult. I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you. And now you have a black eye…" he trailed off, wincing.

"It's fine, it'll go away." She tugged her arm out of his grip but he held on. There was one thing he needed to do. Something she needed to feel for her to understand why he was so worried about her. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.

Eliza was surprised and stumbled backward, bumping into the wall behind her. He kissed her like he had been starving for days – years! – and was finally having his first meal. It took Eliza a few seconds to realize what was happening. She pushed him away. "Linus," she said, breathless. "What the hell was that?!" she hissed.

A shadow passed across Linus' face. "You needed to know why it's my job to keep you safe and why I was so worried about you," he whispered. "And not just because I could lose my job…"

Eliza was frozen in place. But some force inside her urged her to move. She wanted to taste his lips again, but her brain told her otherwise. She fumbled for the knob and walked out of the servant's corridor. Her door was just over there, and she could be in her bed in five minutes.

Instead, she went back through the door. Linus was still there and very surprised to see her again so soon.

Without a word, she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck, and he wrapped his arms around her thin body, pressing her against the wall.

"This is wrong," she muttered between kisses.

"But it feels so right," he replied.

"Yes," she breathed out. They continued kissing for another minute. Then her brain mentally kicked her. "I need to go," she said, pulling herself out of his grip and warm embrace. Linus let his arms fall along his athletic frame and watched her leave.

 **-x-x-x-**

A pounding headache woke Eliza and she grumbled as Samantha opened the curtains. She worked in silence, taking out an outfit for the Princess. A nice knee-length grey dress with lace on the shoulders and some small puffed sleeves. And high heels.

"Why are you choosing the outfit for me, Sam?" Eliza asked, confused.

"Orders of the Queen, I'm afraid."

"Ugh. But why?" She somehow couldn't get out of bed, right now. Especially not to wear this boring and uncomfortable outfit. At least the dress had pockets.

"I don't know, Miss. But you're expected in His Majesty's office before breakfast. He said eight o'clock."

"Great." She kicked the covers away, took a quick shower and put on the gray dress and black heels. Samantha did Eliza's hair – kept it down with some beachy waves – and put lots of concealer and makeup on her black eye, not daring to ask what happened.

Even Eliza couldn't wrap her head around what happened the previous night: she had sneaked out with Tomlin, gone to a music festival, smoked weed, got into a fight, escaped, got yelled at by Linus, and then kissed by Linus. And she kissed him back. Wait, what?

"You're expected in five minutes, Miss," Samantha said, pulling Eliza out of her thoughts.

She nodded and headed for the door. But then she stopped and turned around. "Am I a bad person, Sam?"

"No, Miss."

"Be honest. Don't say what I want to hear."

"I think you're fine, Miss. You're not a bad person." She wrung her hands together and avoided the Princess' gaze.

"Thanks." She walked away and headed to the first floor. She stopped in front of her father's office and knocked. She braced herself for the lecture of the year. Of her life, maybe.

"Come in," the King said in a cold tone.

She opened the door and she noticed much more people in there than she expected. Linus was there of course, standing on the side, with Andromeda, and the Queen on a couch. And Tomlin. He kept his gaze on his hands in his lap, though. He had completely cleaned up, and was wearing an actual suit. So it wasn't only her with the formal clothes.

"Sit down," King Oliver said. Eliza obeyed and waited. No one talked. Her father was staring her down, but she knew better than to look away. She was an adult, she could take the consequences of her actions.

The silence went on for another minute or two. Until the king shifted in his chair and typed something on his computer. He turned the screen around and showed Tomlin and Eliza a shaky YouTube video of the fight. A guy in a leather jacket could be seen fighting off six guys with a redhead girl in the middle of it all, knocked down by a fist or something, and then the two running away hand in hand, their bandanas around their necks and not on their faces anymore. There was so many shouts and noises that nothing intelligible could be heard.

The video ended and the king looked at both the troublemakers in turn. "Is that you on that video?" he asked.

Tomlin nodded. "Yes. Your Majesty," he added. This king was even scarier than his grandfather.

"I see," Oliver said. "And how did you get there?"

"We walked and hitchhiked," Eliza said. She didn't want Tom to get the whole blow of this thing. It was her father, her country, and partly her fault, too.

King Oliver sighed. "That was the most reckless and stupidest thing you could have thought of," he said calmly and coldly to both of them. Eliza would have preferred he got into an angry fit or something. But this coldness and calm was even scarier.

"Lord Tomlin," the King said, "I'm afraid I'll have to send you back home."

Tomlin looked up, but he wasn't surprised. He would take it.

"No," Eliza said, putting her foot down and standing up to her father. "No one's going home. I want to finish with the first round of dates before making any decision. And it's my Selection, I decide."

King Oliver raised an eyebrow. "We had a deal, Eliza."

"I know," she said, sitting straighter at the edge of her seat. "But it's still my life. You wanted me to do this stupid Selection, I'm doing it. But let me make the decisions on my own."

Tomlin made himself as small as possible in his seat. He had no idea about the deal Eliza and her father had made, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know, to be honest.

King Oliver looked at Tomlin. "You're dismissed from this meeting," he said. "I'll let you know what I decide to do with you."

Tomlin took a deep breath, stood, and looked at Eliza. She offered him a weak smile, knowing that now that he was gone, she was going to get the full blow of the thing. He bowed to the King, Queen, and Queen Mother, and left. Eliza would be facing them alone, now.

She braced herself.

"From now on," Queen Elinor said, "Samantha will be choosing your outfits. No more casual short and sneakers. You're a Princess, the Heir to the Throne, and you need to start acting like one. Mr. Reagan will accompany you on all your dates outside the Palace – because there are museums, national parks, and theatre plays to see outside and to show your suitors – and you will make a statement on the next Report about your behavior. No more drinking alcohol. Elisabeth, this is a real problem. I- How did we never see that, before?"

"It's not a problem, mother," she said trying not to roll her eyes. "I just enjoy a glass from time to time. Or a beer. Or a glass of wine at dinner."

"No. Until the end of the Selection there will be no wine, beer, or Champagne, or anything else containing alcohol for you."

"But mom!"

Elinor gave her _the eye_ and Eliza immediately stopped arguing. Fine. No alcohol. She could deal with that. At least she could do Macarons, now.

"Anything else?" she asked sarcastically. Might as well get everything on the table now.

"Did you do drugs when you were in Waverly?" Elinor asked, afraid of the answer.

"No. This was my first time. Ask Linus! And I only took two puffs. I swear."

The Queen looked at Linus. "Is that true? She never did that in Waverly?"

"No, Your Majesty. She never did."

"Good." The Queen sighed and looked at her husband.

"We need to discuss the English Earl," King Oliver sighed.

"He's not going home," Eliza said before anyone could say anything.

Elinor snorted, but it turned out much more feminine than what Eliza did. "What could you possibly see in him?"

Eliza quickly rummaged through her mind despite her headache for all the political files she had read before the Selection. She had to convince them to let him stay. "New England is our ally, but you know there are tensions between us. And you don't want to have them on your bad side because they have a very strong Navy. Dad, it would be madness to send him home now."

King Oliver thought for a moment.

"She does have a point," Andromeda said. "If you send that kid home, there will be political repercussions."

"We can't discuss with every country before eliminating the Suitors," Oliver replied to his mother. "It would take too much time."

"Maybe," Eliza said. "But at least we would be building something with the participating countries. Communication should be at the center of this. We need to tell them why we're eliminating them." She paused to take a breath. "Do you want a war on your hands just because you sent a guy home too early?" She paused, waiting just enough to see her father shaking his head. "That's what I thought."

"She does have another point," Andromeda said softly, a smile in her voice, to no one in particular. "At least her Master's degree is useful. Just let the girl be, Oliver."

Oliver sat in silence for a moment, thinking over. His daughter did have a point. But he still disliked the New English guy. "Fine," he finally said. "Keep him in, for now. But this is your last warning. Next time something goes haywire, they're out and you're grounded."

Eliza nodded obediently and left once her father dismissed her. As soon as she was out the door, she sighed. _That went better than expected_ , she thought.

"Well?" Tomlin said, making her jump. She was not expecting him there. Had he waited outside and heard the whole thing?

"Did you hear everything?" she said, making a face.

"No. I was over there. What did you father say?"

"I convinced him to let you stay. But next time something goes haywire, he won't be this indulgent."

Tom sighed. "I'm so sorry. We should never have gone there, I-"

"Hey, it's fine, Tom. It was actually fun. But it was probably my last hurray. I'm stuck playing the Perfect Princess, now."

"I'm sorry about that," he said, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "But you look good in that outfit."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Do you know how much concealer I have on his bruise? And I haven't been wearing these stupid shoes for more than twenty minutes, and they're already killing me."

They both chuckled. "Are you coming to breakfast with us?"

"I don't think so. I have a massive headache, and I don't think I'm ready to see everyone just yet."

He nodded. "I understand. I'll tell them you said Hi?"

"Yeah." She smiled and walked up to her room, where she took her breakfast, alone, after kicking her heels off. She went on her phone to check the feeds, and oh, my God. That video was everywhere!

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Prince Cian, UK of Ireland; Dining Room, 8:30._**

All the guys were huddled around Adrien's phone, where they were watching a shaky video on YouTube. A video that was all over the internet. Cian sat at a chair away from the noisy group with Raphael, Kwasi, Rama, Nikolai, and a few others. Seriously. If this video was even real and if the speculations were true, this was a whole mess.

"Here he is!" Rafe called out, welcoming the New English Prince in the Dining Hall. None of the Royals had appeared yet, so it was just them. "Man, what a show you pulled off!"

"Shut up," Tomlin grumbled. He knew all too well that he almost got kicked out. "It just went out of control."

"But did you see the video, though? Man, you fought off six guys!" Rafe continued. "I mean, that's not nothing."

Tomlin rolled his eyes and sat with the quiet group. Kwasi and Raphael mostly avoided his gaze.

"Was that really you on the video?" Cian asked, skeptical.

"Yeah," Tom said, not proud of himself.

"What were you thinking?" Raphael said. "We had agreed to help with Eliza's image in the press, and you just did the complete opposite."

"He has a point," Niko said. "That was stupid."

Alek nodded.

"That was awesome!" Rafe continued, sending punches in the air. "That was heroic!"

"Rafe, just tone it down," Kwasi said, annoyance mixed with anger for the guy bubbling up inside him.

"What? It was pretty-"

"Foolish," Cian cut him coldly, sending a glare at Tomlin. "Stupid, uh, reckless? What else is there?"

"Not royal," Niko added.

"Have you considered _fun_?" Rafe countered. "Come on! The girl needs to loosen up a bit!"

"No," Spencer said, sitting down on a free chair. "She doesn't need to loosen up. She needs to take a hold of herself. She's the Crown Princess… _Crikey_!"

"Hey, guys, listen to this," Adrien said, coming over the sitting group. "There are dozens of articles on this thing." He chuckled. "Wanna hear the **_TeenQueen_** article?"

"Yeah!" Rafe said. "At least that one should be positive." He snorted.

" _Our favorite Princess gets more and more interesting as this Selection takes another juicy turn!"_ Adrien read _. "Eliza-bae was seen in some shaky footage taken by a bystander attending EDC Music Fest. It seems she wasn't alone, as she was seen running hand-in-hand with one of her suitors. Our experts on the suitors have narrowed it down to be most likely Lord Tomlin of New England."_

He paused and looked over at Tom, who was holding his face in his hands.

 _"In his own country he has garnered a reputation of being a party boy and now I see why! But look at how he stands up for her! He's a true Prince Charming, and Eliza would be smart to keep hold of this one. That is, if they don't get in too much trouble. How awful would it be to see TeenQueen's new favorite suitor get sent home! How scary! We've got our finger's crossed for you, Princess! Time for you to return the favor and save your Knight in Shining Armor!_ By H. Gummie Bearsly _,_ again," Adrien concluded.

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Rafe said. "He's a hero!"

"Not according to this article," Sebastien said, looking at his own phone. "It's from the **_Illéan Times_**. _PRINCESS ELISABETH GETS HIGH_ _-_ _Princess Elisabeth and Prince Tomlin of New England sneak out to the EDC Music Fest and get high. It seems not only does Princess Elisabeth have a drinking problem, she has a drug problem as well. She first makes a mockery of the Selection, then she proceeds to sneak out of the palace with one of the Selected. When will you learn to behave like a proper princess, Princess Elisabeth?_ _It's not like the world is watching, now is it?_ And it's written by some T.M.F. Fry."

"Ouch," Jericho said. "That was mean."

"Yeah, but we totally deserved it," Tomlin said.

"Okay, you know what?" Cian said standing up. "The Royals are not coming and I'm hungry." He headed to the buffet table and started piling up food in his plate. That Tomlin guy was an idiot, irresponsible Prince, and he didn't want to be near him. Why would someone do this? Like why screw with your mind? He shook his head and pilled too many pancakes on his plate without realizing it. The maple syrup overflowed and spilled on his shirt sleeve.

He mumbled something under his breath, probably an Irish swear word.

Someone chuckled next to him. "Nice," Quin said, grinning.

Cian glared at him and went to sit down to eat his breakfast.

"Hey, listen to this one, it's pretty positive," Rance said, reading from his own phone, too. "It's from the **_Angeles Sun_**. _PRINCESS ELISABETH AT MUSIC FESTIVAL – LA Beach, Angeles—During the EDC Music Festival yesterday, a YouTube video showed Princess Elisabeth and the New English suitor, Lord Tomlin Calvert, present. A group of festival visitors attacked them later on the night, before they escaped, but it also brought light to their unofficial visit at the festival. Unlike Queen Elinor and Princess Emilia, who certainly do great work, Princess Elisabeth is once again proving herself to be approachable, mingling with the 'common folk' and being a royal to relate to. Rather than dressing up in fancy dresses with tiaras and high heels, she is like the next-door girl that understands the average Illéan's worry. Certainly someone we want to see on the throne!_ And it's written by Millyna Herring." Rance chuckled.

"It seems that whatever she does, good or bad, people will find positive _and_ negative stuff to say about it," Caspian said.

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "So we can't control anything."

"They're probably going to say she's selfish when she's visiting a hospital. You never know with these journalists," Henryk said, forking some bacon and eggs.

 **-x-x-x-**

Eliza spent the morning in her rooms, not coming out even to draw a name for a date. She wasn't ready for that. And her head hurt, as well as her bruise. She was lying down on her bed with ice on her eye when there was a light knock.

"What is it?" she called out, not moving from her bed.

Samantha came in. "There's one of the Selected who would like to have a word with you, Miss."

She sighed. "Who?"

"I don't remember his name. But he's the military guy, I think. From Switzerland?"

"Oh. Raphael. What does he want?"

"I don't know, he didn't say. He just asked to speak with you, Miss."

She took off the ice from her eye and sighed. "He probably wants to be sent home. He doesn't want to date a worthless, stupid princess."

Samantha chuckled lightly. "I don't think so, miss."

"We'll see. But if that's the case, you owe me a donut. If I'm wrong, I'll give you a donut. Deal?"

"Deal, Miss," Samantha said, suppressing a smile, already choosing in her mind what flavor her donut would be.

"Where is he?"

"In the Yellow Parlor, Miss."

"Thanks." She slipped on her heels and put her phone in her pocket, because she never went anywhere without her phone. She went down the stairs and headed to the Yellow Parlor. The door was ajar, so she pushed it. Raphael was there, staring out the window. _Dang, he's not wearing his uniform or his boots_ , she thought.

"Raphael," she said, greeting him. "You wanted to see me."

"Yes," he said, turning around. "Thank you for accepting, though."

She smiled and sat on a couch. "Sorry for not showing up earlier. I'm just really not in the mood for a date, right now."

"I understand." He nodded. He then took a box that was lying on the table that Eliza hadn't noticed before. "I have something for you, actually."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He opened the box and showed her the contents. "I wasn't sure if you were a cheese or a chocolate person, though," he said, smiling sheepishly. "So I brought both."

Eliza grinned. "Definitely a chocolate person, right now."

"Excellent. Dark, milk or white?"

"Milk?"

Raphael chuckled and took out a bar of milk chocolate and broke it into pieces before opening it – Swiss tradition. They nibbled on the chocolate.

"I'm really sorry about what happened last night," he said.

Eliza took a deep breath. "I'm not. It was fun, and I would definitely do it again. But I can't." She chuckled.

"Have you read the articles?"

"No. And I'm not going to."

"Some are good, though," he said. "They're portraying you as, and I quote, _the next-door-girl who understands the average Illéan worry._ "

Eliza chuckled. "True, I do. But now I have to pretend I'm the Perfect Princess." She took another bite of chocolate. "At least I have chocolate, now."

Raphael grinned. "The whole box is yours if you want it."

The redhead princess grinned. "Really? What about you?"

"I have my own personal stash in my room, don't worry about me," he said, grinning.

"Good to know," she said slyly. "I'll know where to look when I'm out of chocolate!"

They both laughed and ate the whole chocolate bar in a few minutes.

* * *

 _ **Hiii! so thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed that ;) there will be 3 other articles in the next chapter, don't worry! Thanks**_ Millyna _ **,**_ Headless Gummy Bear _ **and**_ Tis I, The Most Frienchiest Fry _ **for those articles! there will be more in the next**_

 _ **This will probably be my last chapter before Christmas, but I'll be coming back to write in full force on Dec. 26! Thanks for following, reviewing, and putting up with me on Discord!**_

 _ **See you soon** (I'll probably be posting some Companions to make up for the absence in the Main TWIW) **and Merry Christmas to all! :D** (or whatever you celebrate ;) )_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

For two full days, Eliza went into hibernation. She didn't get out of her room, nor did she speak to anyone. Whoever would knock on her door would be solely kicked out by Samantha. The only person she would let in and speak to was Sam. Eliza mainly lay in bed with ice on her eye, read a book, ate the meals Sam brought to her, or discreetly watched the boys in the pool or playing football and soccer from behind a curtain. She had the perfect view, but was careful not to be seen.

She even refused to see her grandmother. That was because she had actually pitied her and said so in front of her whole family, Linus, and maybe even Tomlin. " _Just let the girl be, Oliver_ " was what she had said. She was feeling sorry for her. How could she had not seen that earlier?

When Linus asked to come in, she refused, too. Kissing him was a mistake – even it felt like the perfect thing at the moment – and she didn't know what to think of it. She was even low-key considering asking the Head Security of the Royal Family to give her another Bodyguard. But she couldn't find the strength to do that.

Millie had sent her screenshots of articles – even from newspapers from other countries – and after reading the first three, Eliza had ignored her sister's text messages.

 ** _BBC Daily Times_** , from New England:

 _LORD TOMLIN UPDATE_

 _Removed from the British spotlight, Lord Tomlin has found a way to force himself into the Illean press by causing yet another scandal. The Earl has been the subject of many articles concerning his reckless ways with women, but this is a whole new level. It seems that Tomlin has persuaded even Princess Elisabeth of Illea to take a trip down the wild side. Elisabeth has her own reputation of being difficult to manage, and it seems they've fueled the fire of trouble for each other. Many sources even speculate that they were caught leaving a smoking tent while attending this 'Music Festival', but this journalist considers this event to be a blatant display of carnal desires for all the world to see, and is no place for royals to be. How embarrassing that the New England suitor be the one to convince Princess Elisabeth to begin doing drugs during her Selection. Is there no way that he could behave himself for even the shortest amount of time while performing diplomatic duties in Illea? We have a very close eye on Lord Tomlin, and hopefully he considers this to be the end of his reckless habits._ By B. G. H.

Eliza cringed reading that one. Even New England had an eye on her every move. When she read the one from S.A.U.S, it was even worse. The article was from the national newspaper **_SAUS News_** :

 _ILLEAN CROWN PRINCESS SNEAKS OUT_

 _Princess Elisabeth of Illéa and Lord Tomlin from New England sneak out to see the EDC music fest, and the princess even gets high! If one of our royals was to behave like that, Queen Lavina would ground them for life! Apparently, the crown princess of Illéa and the Earl of Sussex need to have Queen Lavina raise them, because these royals are out of control!_ _Even our rebellious Prince Quinlan wouldn't get high. It looks like these royals have the bar set low. Really low._ by Fry T. Frenchiest

Eliza sighed. She really needed to get back on track. It had started well with her first three dates – Hans, Xander, and Jinhai – but then there was one – _one!_ – that went haywire and the whole entire world was in an uproar. Like they would all do so much better than her under this much pressure.

The last article she read was the in the **_Calgary Chronicle_** , her own country, but again, absolutely awful.

 _PARTY PRINCESS CRASHES MUSIC FESTIVAL_

 _The EDC Music Festival has opened for the week, bringing its usual throng of celebrities. Among them were Crown Princess Elisabeth and one of her suitors, Lord Tomlin of New England. One eyewitness reports that the two were exchanging marijuana. Another witness states Lord Tomlin engaged in a fistfight with several spectators. The royals obviously have no qualms about the standards they are held to. In recent events, Princess Elisabeth has shown that she has little inhibition around others or care for the Selection. Once highly regarded as an important tradition in Illéa, she has made a mockery of the country around the world._ By Kay Strange

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Archduke Spencer Chapman. Room 201, Illéan Palace._**

Harrison woke up when his valet – he didn't remember his name – came in with his morning Fairy Bread and coffee. He would never eat that in front of anyone. It was his little secret he shared with Elvis. Oh, and his valet, too, obviously. Fairy bread was actually white bread cut into triangles topped with spread of margarine and sprinkles, and he would be very embarrassed if anyone knew. It was something he had liked ever since he was a kid.

He grunted when the guy opened the curtains. Like what use was it to get up when even the Princess wouldn't show herself? The official excuse was that she was sick. But Harrison knew better. She was just ashamed of herself to show her face. The articles had been mean, yes, but it was no excuse to go into hiding.

Elvis stirred in his little bed on Harrison's night table. He took the box next to him on his bed and pet the little animal's soft fur. "Hey there, Elvis," he whispered for only Elvis to hear. "How did you sleep?" he waited a couple seconds. "Good? Yeah, me too."

"Your coffee, sir," the valet said. "Shall I get an outfit for you, sir?"

"No, I can do that," Harrison said. He waited a little more, taking Elvis on his bare chest and petting him. He then went to take a shower. As soon as the water was flowing, he started humming. Then, without even realizing that the valet could hear him, he started singing, knowing every single word from _Can't Help Falling in Love_ , from Elvis Presley. He even used the shower head as a microphone.

"Everything alright, sir?" the valet said through the door, a hint of a smile in his voice.

Harrison lost his balance and almost slipped, but he got ahold of the handle on the wall, and he froze in place.

"Yes," he called back, his voice almost cracking. _Idiot_ , he muttered. He quickly finished his shower and got out, a towel around his waist. His ears turned pink when he saw his valet waiting for him in the room, a ghost of a smirk on his face. Harrison ignored him and chose an outfit. He was used to the heat, so a suit with long sleeves was not a problem. He headed to the door to go to breakfast, but stopped.

"What happens in this room stays in this room." He paused. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," the valet said. And he knew better than to talk. He could lose his job for this.

Harrison left the room, closing the door behind him and headed to breakfast. When he got there, he realized he was a bit late, since most of the guys were already there, and so were the Royals. All, except Eliza, which was the second day in a row. He bowed to the King and Queen, excusing himself for his lateness, and sat at an empty seat. Elvis crawled out of his pants pocket – since space became way tighter when his human sat – and stayed on his lap.

"You took Elvis to breakfast, Spence?" Alek said, seeing the tiny animal in his neighbor's lap.

"Yeah," Harrison replied. "We are going to need some entertainment in the Men's Parlor, later, on."

Alex chuckled. "Why? Doesn't what Henri say interest you?" he asked sarcastically.

"Of course, it does," Harrison said in an equally sarcastic tone. He looked at the Royals' table. "Still no sign of the Princess?"

Alek also looked there. "Apparently not."

 _Good,_ Harrison thought. _At least I don't have to pretend with her. Still have to be careful with the guys, though._

"What do you think she's playing at?" Alek asked.

"She did her walk of shame. I'm guessing she needs a few days to recover."

"Or she's dying from the drugs," Rama said. "Just kidding. She's maybe just sick."

"That's what they've been telling us for two days," Alek said. "But I don't believe it." He paused, thinking. "Maybe we need to do something to pull her out of her misery?"

Rama nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

"Maybe we should talk about it privately, in the Men's Parlor," Harrison said, stealing a glance at the Illéan royals, who were watching them.

The boys around him all looked up and sure enough, the royals were watching.

"Right," Alek said.

They chatted on about other things, eating their breakfast. When they were all in the Men's Parlor, Alek came back with his idea.

"So," he said, "should we do something?"

Harrison was sitting in an armchair with Elvis climbing up his shirt; Rama had joined them with Vasavi, his cat, and Rafe had also made a detour by his room to get Draco, his white Ferret. Ever since Haruhito always had his cat with him, the others had taken on the habit to have their pets with them, too.

"Yeah," Rama said. "I think it would be nice. At least to show her that we care."

Alek nodded. "Hey guys, gather up." The others obeyed, gathering up around the group. "We think we should do something for Eliza. Something to help her get out of her hiding place?"

"I thought she was sick?" CJ said.

"I don't believe she is," Alek replied. "She's hiding, and she just needs a small nudge or something to let her know that we care, I guess?"

"What do you suggest?" Cian asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Something personal," Alek said. "Something that will show her that we've started to get to know her? I don't know."

"Cinnamon rolls," Latreall said out of the blue. "She loves those."

"Good idea," Alek said. "Another idea? I was thinking of a note, or a card."

"What flowers does she like?" Kwasi asked.

No one answered.

"I guess we'll have to figure that one out," Alek said, taking out his phone to take some notes.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Henri said, coming in and seeing them all huddled together.

Alek explained what they wanted to do, and Henri nodded, impressed.

"Excellent idea. I'll let you to it, then."

"Uh," Alek said. "Do you know what flowers Eliza likes?"

Henri chuckled. "Maybe." He took out his tablet to make a search on the Internet. "But I have no idea what they're called. Let me just…" he trailed off. "Ah, Peonies. I can never remember that word." He chuckled. "White peonies."

Kwasi looked up something on his phone. "I think they should be from Tomlin," he said, saying the guy's name as if it was something dirty.

"Why?" Tomlin said, offended.

"Because every flower has a meaning, and white peonies are, and I quote, _a good choice for communicating your regret over embarrassing yourself or someone else."_

Harrison burst out laughing. "This can't be more appropriate."

Tomlin took a deep breath. "Fine. The peonies will be from me."

"Do we all have to give something, though?" Niko asked. "Can't we just do a group gift or something?"

Jericho chuckled. "We can team up, if you want."

Niko's cheeks turned a little pink. "Sure."

"We don't have to do twenty-three separate gifts," Alek said. "Just some personal stuff. But Kwasi's right. The Peonies have to some from Tomlin."

"What if she doesn't know the meaning?" Rance said. "It's not really obvious."

"Then I'll write a note to go with it," Tom said.

"Okay, what else?" Alek asked, ready to type the ideas on his phone.

"Macarons, obviously," Jinhai said. "I'll need to make some more, since you guys ate the rest. Anyone want to help?"

Haruhito raised his hand. "If Adern can come, I'll come."

Jinhai nodded. "Sure." He smiled, a dimple showing in his left cheek.

"I'll look for the cinnamon rolls," Latreall offered.

"And I'll bring in some Swiss chocolate," Raphael said. "I happen to know she loves milk chocolate."

Alek typed down the ideas while Hans said something to Henryk in German.

"Hans is painting something," Henryk said to the group.

"Good," Alek said. "Great idea. The others?"

Rafe and Quin shared a look. "Do we have to do this?" Rafe said. "I mean, I'm no cook or artist."

"We'll just take care of the box," Quin said. "We'll find a big box to put everything in it."

Rafe and Alek nodded.

"I guess I'll find a card?" Caspian said. "But I'm not writing it."

"I can," Otávio said.

"That leaves Adrian, Xander, and Sebastien," Alek said. "What do you guys want to do?"

"I'll bring it to her," Sebastien said. "She won't kick _me_ out."

Everyone laughed, even Henri.

"Can't we just give her a bottle of wine, or something?" Adrien said. "I mean, she seems to be a wine lover?"

Henri cleared his throat. "I'm afraid that's not going to be possible. The, uh… Queen has demanded that no alcohol be served to the Princess for the duration of the Selection."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Screw that. Adrian and I are getting her a bottle of wine. She might need it more than ever. We'll just say we didn't know, right?" He chuckled.

"Okay, it's settled," Alek said.

"Then off to work," Henri added, happy to have a morning off. The guys all went to work on their assigned task, getting everything ready for the Princess.

 **-x-x-x-**

Later that evening, Eliza was finally finishing her book – which took her forever because of exams and then starting the Selection – wearing her pajama and her fluffy slippers. She didn't know yet if she was going to stay away and hiding and for how long, but for now, it was just perfect.

She had dismissed Samantha for the evening, so she was completely alone when there was a knock on her door. She rolled her eyes, but didn't move from her couch. The knock sounded a second time.

"Damn, really persistent," she muttered.

On the third knock, she sighed and went to open. There was no one. Only a huge white box with a red bow on it in front of her door. She looked down the hall but saw no one. She raised an eyebrow, curious, and picked up the box. She locked herself in her room again, went to her couch, and opened the box.

"Oh, my God," she said, surprised. There was a bouquet of her favorite white peonies, with a small card attached to it.

 _Dear Eliza,_

 _I'm sorry about the whole fiasco of our date… I don't know if you know this, but white peonies actually communicate one's regret of embarrassing oneself or someone else. So yes. These flowers were the perfect gift for you. I'm sorry._

 _Tom._

She put the flowers aside. And no, she didn't know about their meaning. Covering the rest of the present was a layer of grey tissue paper, and on top lay a card. The first thing she noticed when she opened it were the twenty-three signatures of her Selected. A smiled tug at her lips, which turned out into a full grin when she read the note.

 _Dearest Eliza,_

 _We hope you're okay and that this gift finds you in a good mood? We just wanted to let you know that we miss you, and that whatever happens, we're on your side (at least most of us, are…). Please come back soon!_

 _Your devoted Selected._

She chuckled and wiped a tear that stayed at the corner of her eye. These guys were so cute. But she wondered who were the ones not on her side? Maybe just some who really didn't appreciate her latest catastrophe.

She lifted the tissue paper and gasped at the sight of all those presents! There was a box of cinnamon rolls, a box of pink macarons, a bottle of wine – which she needed to hide as quickly as possible –, some chocolate, and a painting?

The first thig she did, though, was eating a macaron. Then she lifted the painting. It was absolutely beautiful. It was a forest of yellow trees on a grey background with grey trunks. She loved the mix of these two colors and looked for a signature somewhere. "Hans?" she said, reading the name at the bottom. She had no idea he could paint! It was absolutely beautiful and she would ask someone to hang it on her wall. The painting was so happy, and yet a brooding edge was behind it all. And she loved the mix of those two moods.

The gift actually helped her decide when she going to stop hiding: one last night, and then she'll go out, her chin high, and accept the consequences of everything. Fine. She was a Princess, so she was strong enough to do this, right?

The next morning, after a restful sleep, Eliza got up early, even before Samantha came to wake her up. She took a long shower, cleaned her hair, massaged some scented oil in her skin and put on a black midcalf dress with a high collar and short sleeves, paired with a very uncomfortable pair of black heels. She would play her part to the end. Samantha covered her eye with concealer and did her makeup.

Once ready, she headed downstairs to breakfast, early enough that she would be the first there. And sure enough, she was. She lingered by the windows, looking at the bright sky outside, and hoping that the next date would be outside. And that she could wear pants.

One after the others, the boys trickled in, and Eliza nodded at them when she went to take her seat – after filling a plate of cinnamon rolls, of course.

"You've finally decided to join us," Millie said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Had a change of heart?"

"Something like that," Eliza replied.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's Parlor, 9 am._**

Henri and the boys were surprised to see Eliza stroll in the room at the beginning of their morning. She stopped in front of the 'class'.

"I wanted to thank you all for the box you gave me, last night. I really appreciate it, and I'm deeply touched by your friendship." She chuckled. "I'm going to have to hide the bottle of wine, but details." She took a deep breath. "If not for you're your gesture, I might have stayed in hibernation for a few more days. So thank you." She paused as the guys smiled and nodded. "I'd like to select a name for the next date, if that's okay with you guys. But maybe let's keep it at one date per day."

The boys chuckled and Henri gave her the box. Eliza randomly chose a paper in it, and read the name out loud. "Nikolai."

* * *

 _ **Hiii! yay! I managed to write something for you in between family reunions and all^^ just my Christmas gift for you!**_

 _ **I tried to mention everyone in the scene where Alek took leadership, please appreciate the effort xD**_

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter, and I can't wait to show you Niko's date xD** (some JeriNiko stuff coming up, too... but hey, you didn't hear that from me!)_

 _ **Anyway, Merry Christmas, and I'll see you soon!**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 ** _Tsarevich Nikolai, Men's Parlor, 9 am_**

In the back of the room, Niko froze. No. This was not it. He was not the next date. "Uhm, yes, of course."

Eliza smiled at the Russian young man. "Would you like to organize it, or should I?"

"I'll do it," he said without thinking. "Afternoon."

Eliza nodded and put the box away. "Excellent. I'll see you later, then." She headed out of the room, the door closing behind her.

As soon as she was gone, the boys all turned to Niko.

"What are you gonna do?" Quinn asked. "Snowball fight?"

Some of the boys sniggered, which made Niko become red to the tips of his ears. "This is Angeles. In the summer."

"Okay, gentlemen," Henri said, taking back their attention. "Let the man decide for himself and get to work."

Without a word, Niko walked out of the room. He needed some air, and some space, and silence to think. What on earth was he supposed to do? And he needed to come up with a safe idea. Because not only was Illéa watching them and the Princess, but he also had eyes from the Russian Empire watching him, taking notes, and judging him. He couldn't do a single mistake. He couldn't stray left or right from the path.

"Hey, are you okay?" someone called behind him, putting a hand on his arm. Jericho. Niko recognized his voice instantly, and his anxiety seemed to retreat a little.

"Yes. I'm fine," he said, keeping his eyes ahead of him, gazing out the window. The green lustrous garden didn't really inspire him.

Jericho sensed the muscles in Niko's arm tensing, so he swiftly took off his hand. "Did you find an idea?"

"No."

Jericho sighed. "Can I help you with finding one?"

Niko nodded, unable to trust his voice, at the moment.

"What do you like doing? Something you could show or teach Eliza to do?"

"Ice skating," Niko said without hesitation. He hadn't done it in years. His family thought it was childish, and not fit for a Prince. But it was part of him, still.

"Good idea!" Jericho replied, sitting on the windowsill and looking up at his friend. "You've got your date idea. I'm sure there is an indoor ice-skating thing, here?"

"Maybe," Niko said. "I would need to check. But just her and me in the skating rink?" He shuddered at the thought. What on earth could he do? Or talk about?

"Make do a group date. Ask Eliza if she would be okay with it, and then ask a few guys to join you. That could be fun, right?" Jericho suggested, hoping he could come, too.

Niko shrugged. "Maybe." But what would Eliza think of this choice? What would his family say? A group date was the easy solution. "I need to make a call," he said, not moving. Jericho's presence soothed him, and he didn't want to leave the boy's side.

"Hey, it's going to be fine, okay?" Jericho said softly, putting his hand on Niko's forearm. "Nothing will go wrong with ice-skating."

Niko snorted elegantly. Everything could go wrong with ice-skating: falling, breaking a bone, cutting your fingers with a blade, or hitting your head. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He met Jericho's gaze, nodded with a hint of a smile on his face, whispered a little "thank you" and went on his way to prepare the date.

 **-x-x-x-**

After luncheon in the dining room with the Royals, Niko stayed behind to talk to Eliza. "Your Highness?" he said, coming over.

"Yes, Niko?" she said, before realizing he had called her _highness_ , and maybe he wanted her to call him that, too?

"I've organized our date," he said awkwardly, not really knowing how else to say this.

"Oh, excellent," she said, a warm smile growing on her lips. "What are we doing?"

Niko braced himself for the announcement. "I know it's summer, but I wanted us to go ice skating, actually."

Eliza raised an amused eyebrow.

 _There, I did it_ , Niko thought. _That was a stupid idea. I'm an idiot_.

"That's actually a great idea, Niko," Eliza said. "I haven't done that in years, but I'd be

very happy to try again."

 _And she can't skate. Great._ "I wanted to ask you something, though," he said. "I thought maybe a group date would be fun. A small group, not too big, but just the two of us on the skating rink is going to be a little weird, maybe?"

Eliza chuckled and placed her hand on Niko's arm, who's muscles tensed under her touch. But unlike Jericho, she didn't withdraw, and he actually liked the warm feeling. "You know what? Why not? Like this, I'm not the only silly person who doesn't really know how to skate." She took off her hand, and Niko sighed – relieved? Sad? He didn't even know himself. "Was there anyone in particular who you wanted to join us?" she asked.

Niko thought and walked to the window where the guys were already taking ownership of the gardens – swimming pool, makeshift soccer 'field', lounge chairs – and he sighed. "It's summer," he said as Eliza joined him by the window. "I don't think they want to go in the cold of an ice-skating rink. They're all already wearing their bathing suits…" He hesitated before looking at the redhead girl beside him. "Do you want to go in the cold?"

"Absolutely. It'll be a nice change." She smiled warmly at him. "I'll go change and I'll meet you in fifteen minutes in the Entrance Hall?"

Niko nodded and also went to change.

Fifteen minutes later, they met up in the Hall, both dress with warm pants, holding gloves and sweaters over their arms. Linus was waiting on the side.

"Mr. Reagan will come with us," Niko said, "and Miss. Write, too."

Eliza nodded and they both followed Linus outside to the hangar where they climbed into a vehicle. They rode in silence the whole way, until Linus stopped the car in front of a flat building.

"You know," Eliza said. "I think I've never been here before."

"But you said you skated when you were younger," Niko replied, unsure.

"In Whites. We always spent at least one week there in the winter holidays. Ice-skating used to be one of my favorite activities during those days." She chuckled. "Along with snowball fights with my dad." A nostalgic smile crept on Eliza's face for a minute. She sighed. "Okay. You're ready?" she asked.

Niko nodded and they went inside, rented pairs of skates, and sat on the side bench to tie them up. Eliza was grinning and chatting away, filling the silence, and talking about her childhood memories in Whites.

Niko smiled. "You would like it in Russia," he said.

"Maybe I would," she replied, standing up and trying the skates on the carpet. "Ow!" she said, as her ankle twisted a bit. She found her balance when Niko grabbed her arm in a reflex.

"Wait, let me tie them up tighter," Niko said. Eliza sat back down, and Nikolai crouched down, put one knee on the floor and started tightening her laces. He didn't dare look up, but both heard the _clicks_ of pictures being taken by Ruby and Lukas.

"Thanks," she said, once he was done.

Niko went first on the ice and waited for Eliza to join him, too. "I got this," she said, taking hold of the railing. "I got this." She took a deep breath and placed her feet, one after the other, on the ice. "I could skate pretty decently when I was a kid," she said, more to herself than to Niko. "This is like riding a bike, right?" she added, looking up at her date. "You can't forget how to skate, right?"

Nikolai chuckled, maybe the first time in the day. "No, I don't think you can forget how to skate." He went out, trying out the ice with his rented skates, thinking he should have taken his own. He skated gracefully, doing a whole round of the rink.

Eliza watched him and was almost jealous of his ease at skating. But she swallowed her pride and pushed herself from the edge and slid to the center of the ice rink. "Okay, I can do this," she mumbled. She tried to straighten her back, and almost lost her balance.

"Bend your knees, a little," he said, skidding to a perfect stop next to her. "Yeah, that's right. Put most of your weight on her legs, and balance with the upper part of your body." He watched as she obeyed. "How long ago did you do this?" he asked.

"Maybe thirteen years ago?" She chuckled nervously. "But I'll get the hang of it. Don't worry. You won't be watching me fall the whole time."

Niko laughed. "I hope not." He hesitated before taking her gloved hands in his. "Here. Hold on to me, and just try to keep your balance, okay?"

Eliza nodded as he skated backward elegantly, pulling her slowly at first and then faster. "Not so fast!" she said, laughing. After a while, she tried mimicking him – going forward – and she found the movements she used to do as a kid. "Hey, I think I got it," she said. Niko watched as she skated a little shakily, but let go her hands when he was sure she had the hang of it. A cold feeling seeped through his gloves, and he wished deep down that he hadn't let go of her.

"Look! I'm skating!" she said giddily. She skated a couple times around the rink and laughed at the freeing feeling. Nikolai tried to teach her how to skate backward, drawing little Christmas trees on the ice as they went.

"You know, I never figured out how to do this," she said.

"Can I ask you something?" Niko said after a moment of watching her skate without losing her balance, matching his pace to hers as they skated in large circles around the rink.

"Sure?"

"Were you really sick during those two days?"

Eliza chuckled. "No." She paused and took a deep breath. "Can I talk honestly?"

"Yes, of course." He nodded, a serious look on his face. As much as he didn't like how much she drank or how she behaved, he needed to know. Maybe there was a reason, right?

"I don't know for you, but I'm a human before I'm a Princess. And I don't know if Tomlin told you guys or if you noticed, I've been concealing a black eye ever since the festival. And with the black eye came a headache."

"I didn't know that."

"Also, you probably know I was in College for the past five years, away from Angeles and this… life, you know? I was used being a normal girl. But the moment I came back here after my exams, my dad kind of threw my old life back at me: the spotlight, politics, the Selection, and being his perfect little princess. I had a deal with him, that I would do what he said if I could just go to College and get a Master's degree."

By then, they had stopped in the middle of the rink to talk. Linus and Ruby eyed them curiously. What on earth could they be talking about? Was there a problem?

"Why did you make such a deal with your father?" Nikolai asked, puzzled. "Surely you knew what he had in mind?"

"I knew I would have to do a Selection. But not like this. It was a shock to me, and I started this whole thing begrudgingly. I didn't want to do it. I wanted my life back in Waverly." She paused, sighing, absentmindedly looking at Linus, whom she associated with Waverly.

"That's why you didn't really, uh… behave like a Princess, at first?"

Eliza chuckled nervously. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I was just so stressed, and I didn't want to do this. So I took these couple days just to get my wits back together, put ice on my face, and actually decide for myself that I wanted to do this." She looked up at Niko and searched his ice blue eyes. "Does that make sense?"

He nodded. "Yes. It does." He offered her a small smile. "Thank you for telling me." He cleared his throat and skated in circled around her. "Maybe the others deserve to know this, too, you know?"

Elia took a deep breath and sighed. "I know. I just don't know how to tell this to everyone."

"Just like you told me."

"Maybe I will." She chuckled and slapped him on the arm. "Tag, you're it!" She lunged forward and skated away as fast as she could, but Niko had joined her in a few powerful strides and touched her arm. "You're it," he said just above a whisper.

They played tag like this for a while, and Eliza got better and better at skating. At some point, just as Niko was about to tag her, Eliza tried to avoid his hand on her back, jerked to the left, and lost her balance. Niko was fast to catch her, but she was already falling, and they both fell on the ice, laughing, Eliza on top on Niko.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," she said, rolling to the side, laughing.

"It's fine," he replied, red in the cheeks.

"Are you hurt?" she asked. "You took most of the fall."

Nikolai chuckled as he got up and helped her up. "Trust me, I've had worst falls."

They stood in the middle of the skating rink, with an awkward silence around them, and Eliza took out her phone, suggesting they take a selfie for her collection. Nikolai wasn't really sure about it, but Eliza insisted, wrapped her arm around him and took the selfie. She didn't want to bother him too much with it, so she only took one. But it was enough, and Eliza was happy about her little selfie tradition.

They skated some more, not doing too crazy stuff, until they decided to go back home.

 **-x-x-x-**

A little after dinner that same evening, Eliza was slowly heading back to her room for a quiet night in, since she didn't have any planned dates. But as she stepped on the second floor, she heard cheers and whoops, and she wondered what the guys were doing. She followed the noise and her curiosity got the better of her. She stopped in front of a door – not a bedroom, but a small sitting room for guests – and pushed the door open since it was slightly ajar. She was surprised to see a group of six _princes_ laughing and actually playing video games.

She laughed, and all the boys turned around, surprised to see the Princess. All their Mario Kart characters crashed in walls at the same time.

"Where on earth did you find this?" Eliza asked, coming further into the room. She crouched in her evening dress and picked up one of the game boxes.

"Uh, Henri found that for us, actually," Caspian said. "I think he went through some old stuff in the attic."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "The attic?"

"Or something like that," Latreall said. "He said it belonged to the king and his brother when they were kids. He said there was a whole room with old stuff, there."

Eliza laughed. "Oh, my goodness. I cannot imagine my dad playing this." She chuckled.

The guys all shared glances and nodded. Why not?

"Do you want to play?" Sebastien asked.

"Yeah, we have cookies, chocolate, M&M's, potato chips…" Quin trailed off, enumerating the food in their possession.

Eliza chuckled. "You know what? Why not. I've never played this game, so I'm probably going to lose. But who cares, right?"

The boys chuckled and Rafe gave her another gamepad which he connected to the screen. "Okay, all set."

"What's this game, actually?" Eliza asked, trying to make herself comfortable on the floor in her long dress.

"Mario Kart," Quin said. "You need to choose a character-"

"You're the Princess!" Raphael said, cutting Quin. "Sorry," he added to Quin.

Quin shook his head in disbelief. "As I was saying, you choose a character, the Princess for example, and you drive. It's a race. Don't crash into walls, and careful what you get along the way: some things will help you, others won't."

"And how will I know what does what?" she asked.

Caspian explained the objects in detail, but Eliza knew she wasn't going to remember everything. She nodded and they started the game.

Of course, Eliza lost the first three games, but as she played, it became easier and then she only ended fourth or fifth. They ate the junk food, laughed, and played some more. Her quiet night would have to wait, but she was happy she had been curious enough to follow the nose and push the door.

"Hey Rafe, pass the chips," Latreall said. Both Raph's went for the chips, and chuckled.

"Sorry, my bad," Raphael said.

Rafe burst out laughing. "You're _Raph_ , not _Rafe_ , bro."

Eliza laughed, too.

There was a moment of crispy silence as Latreall ate his chips. It was getting late, and Eliza was yawning. "Well, gentleman, thanks for the nice evening, but I think I'm going to go to bed."

Sebastian quickly got to his feet and held out his hand for Eliza to grab and help her stand up. "May I walk you back to your room?" he asked with a sly grin.

She rolled her eyes, amused. "You may." She looked at the others still sitting on the floor and bid them goodnight.

She followed Sebastian out the door and they walked side by side the flight of stairs to the third floor. They stopped in front of her room.

"My Lady," he said coyly, taking her hand in his and kissing it. "Thank you for your company, tonight. But I can't wait to have a real date you."

Eliza smiled. "You will, I promise. But the names are random." She yawned again. "I'm sorry," she said, laughing nervously. _How impolite_ , she thought. "Good night, Sebastian."

"Good night, Princess."

* * *

 _ **Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it^^**_

 _ **[ You may find some similarities with the Christmas HP AU by**_ Doctor Kay _ **, and the latest chapter of Selected Letters by**_ PrincessLilyCarter _ **, but it's absolutely not on purpose. I wrote that without knowing what Kay and Lily wrote! so, sorry about that xD ]**_

 _ **For those of you who haven't read** **a Christmas Hogwarts One-Shot of some of the TWIW characters written by**_ Doctor Kay _ **, please go read "The Most Magical Time of the Year" posted on our Collab Account,**_ thediscordalliance _ **!**_

 _ **And go also check the Companions, there are a Caspian POV and a second Rama POV one-shot you may have missed!**_

 _ **See you soon! :D**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

When Eliza woke up on Friday morning, she knew she had a long day ahead of her. She got up without complaining too much, took a shower and braced herself to tackle the day.

"What's the program today?" she asked Samantha who was coming over with her daily schedule. Eliza skimmed the timetable. "I didn't know I had an appointment with Kora?" she wondered out loud.

"Yes, this one was scheduled from the start," Sam replied, taking out an outfit for the Princess. "She'll be waiting for you after your visit to the Selected to pick the next date. So you'll have to dress for breakfast."

Eliza nodded. One look at the outfit, and she knew it was going to be a nice – albeit long – day: a simple sleeveless knee-length black dress with a pair of stilettos. She cringed at the thought of wearing those all day. Unless she had a date where she could wear something else.

As soon as she was ready, she headed outside. The first person she saw was Linus. He smiled brightly at her, but she only offered him a small smile. She quickly went down the stairs before he said anything. Having him third wheel her practically all her dates was embarrassing enough.

Right after breakfast, she went to the Men's parlor to select a date for the afternoon. Once that was done, she headed to her room. Her time with Kora shouldn't take too long, so she could attend the weekly meeting with her father and his advisors.

"Your Highness," Kora said with a little curtsey when Eliza walked into the makeshift beauty salon in the guestroom. Eliza even noticed a warmer tone in the woman's voice.

"Hello, Kora," Eliza said. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," she said, cleaning her hands with a sanitizer. "I know this is going to sound weird but, how are you feeling? I mean, with everything that happened, and all, I just- I was worried about you."

Eliza smiled. "Thank you. But I'm fine."

"Really?" Kora asked skeptically. "Because that last Report was not very, uhm, nice to you? And then the music festival and all those terrible articles?"

"It's kind of you to ask," Eliza said, stripping down and bracing herself for the waxing. "But I'm okay now."

Kora nodded as she prepared the wax at just the right temperature. "Good. Because I wanted to call you to see if you were okay, before I realized I didn't even have your number," Kora said, chuckling. "I mean, why would I have your number in the first place? You're a Princess. I'm sure you don't share that kind of information with everyone."

Eliza's smile was a bit distorted by the fact that the wax was a bit too warm on her legs. "No, I don't share that kind of information, you're right. I wish I could, but then my dad would say that I made a political mistake."

Kora laughed. "I'm no political person. I'm not one of your princes."

"I know," Eliza said. "And I'm glad you're not. You can't even imagine how it is to have a political noose hanging above you. For now, I managed to avoid looking at it, but I know something is going to blow up in my face." She paused as Kora pulled the wax. She grimaced. "And I hope you'll be there to patch my face up when it blows."

Kora pulled another line of wax. "If I can, sure."

There was a moment of silence as Kora worked on the Princess' legs. "Turn around," she ordered kindly, before working on the back of her legs.

"How's your brother?" Eliza suddenly asked. "You told me he was upset about the Selection not being a normal one."

Kora laughed. "Kyle is pretty unhappy about the whole thing." She paused. "He's very jealous about your Selected, and he, uhm, finds every opportunity to talk dirty on everyone."

"Including me?" Eliza asked, faking outrage.

"I'm afraid, so, yes."

"Nothing new there, anyway." She winced as Kora worked on the sensitive spot just behind her knees. "But I'd like to meet him."

Kora choked on her own saliva. "I'm sorry? You want to meet Kyle? Why?" she asked.

"I don't know. I just want to show him that we're just normal people." She paused. "What does he do for a living?"

"He's an assistant veterinarian."

"Excellent," Eliza said grinning, an idea blooming in her mind. "So many of the Selected took their pets with them. I'm sure one of them is going to get sick or something. I'll call for Kyle, then."

"Don't you have an official veterinarian?"

"Only for the horse. He's a specialist. But now we have cats, a ferret, and a sugar glider in our midst. I'm sure we'll find a time to have Kyle come over."

Kora chuckled. "Oh, how I wish to see that. Kyle meeting your Selected is going to be epic. He tends to speak his mind and isn't afraid to show his opinion."

"It's going to be interesting, indeed," Eliza said. "I hope one of the animals gets sick soon."

Both young women laughed, and they chatted on in a friendly manner. When she was done, Eliza got dressed, took Kora's number, and headed to the meeting as quickly as she could. Thank goodness she wasn't late.

 **-x-x-x-**

Just before lunch, Eliza was ready for her afternoon date. To have more time at the spot, they would be leaving early to have a picnic there. Nothing too fancy, since they actually had to have enough time to enjoy the site before coming back to the Angeles Palace for the Report.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Rama," Eliza said, joining him in the Entrance Hall.

"Don't worry, we've got time." He smiled and took the bag at his feet. "Let's go then."

"You were so secretive in your note. Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he said, grinning. "But I promise you'll love it."

Eliza wasn't so sure about it. Rama had asked her to wear hiking clothes, and hiking was not her favorite thing in the world. But she had to keep an open mind, and as she had told herself earlier: _suck it up, buttercup_.

They headed to the garage where a motorcycle was waiting for them, with two helmets on top.

"Are you kidding me?" Eliza said with a grin. "We're riding that thing?"

"Oh, yeah," Rama said. "I thought it would be more fun than ride with him," he said, pointing at Linus with his thumb. "And we need to show your people you're a cool Princess, right?"

"I'm not sure that was the plan, but why not?" she laughed and took the helmet Rama gave her. She also wore a black leather jacket and some knee pads and boots. Better safe than sorry. She climbed behind him and Ruby and Lukas followed behind in a small black car Linus drove. He didn't really like that turn of events, but he couldn't say anything about it. Well, he could say that they couldn't ride that for safety reasons, but then she wouldn't be happy about it. She seemed so excited to see the bike and actually ride it…

After an hour of driving, they finally arrived at their destination, which Eliza still didn't know about. Rama parked the bike on the parking lot where other cars were already parked, and Eliza noticed the gigantic trees only when she took off her helmet.

"Wow," Eliza said, climbing off the motorbike. She craned her neck to try to see the top of the trees, but it was almost impossible. "You know, I've lived in Angeles for most of my life, and I've never even been here."

Rama chuckled. "Not an outdoorsy person?"

"Not much. I like being outside and all, but in a lounge chair with a book." She laughed. "Although walking through Sequoia National Park is going to be interesting! I can't wait."

Rama opened the small trunk of the bike and shouldered the backpack. "First, we eat. If you find a nice place, let me know."

Eliza nodded and both young people started walking on a forest path. Linus, Ruby, and Lukas followed behind, taking pictures and filming and trying to be as discreet as possible. After walking for twenty minutes, they found a nice place at the base of a giant tree to eat.

"How thick do you think the trunk is?" Eliza asked, staring at the tree in wonder.

"Perimeter or diameter?"

"Both?" she laughed.

Rama looked at the trunk, walked around it and estimated the size. "I'd say the perimeter is thirty-five meters, and the diameter is something like seven meters?" He stood against the trunk and hugged it. "The width of my arms is about 150 centimeters. Put your hand here." Eliza obeyed, marking where he started. He then hugged the whole tree and counted twenty arm-wide hugs around the tree. "Ah, 30 meters in diameter. I was wrong by 5 meters"

"How did you know that?" Eliza asked, surprised.

"I have a good eye for trees and nature."

They sat on the ground, unwrapping sandwiches. "You studied biology?"

"Something like that. I'm a wildlife conservationist. I try to restore Bengal to its former glory."

"Wow," she said. "That's amazing."

"Speaking of Bengal, did you know that I have a Bengal Tiger?"

Eliza choked on her sandwich. "As a pet?"

"Yeah." Rama grinned. "He's still a cub, but he's the cutest thing."

"Do you have a picture?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah." He took out his phone from his bag and scrolled through his pictures. Eliza noticed some pictures of the Selected, but didn't say anything about it. "Ah, here." He handed the phone to Eliza.

"Aw! He is so cute!" she zoomed in the picture. "Or is it a _she_?"

"No, it's a _he_. His name is Brahmasta."

Eliza grinned. "Why didn't you take him with you? The whole Selection turned out to be a whole zoo in the process."

Rama laughed. "Yeah, I know. And I participated in it by bringing my cat Vasavi. Brahmasta might be a cub, but he's still a bit wild and dangerous. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"Fair point. And my mother would have kicked you and the tiger out."

Rama raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because she can tolerate a cat or a ferret. Something small, even if she's allergic. But a tiger?" She laughed. "Not a chance."

Rama laughed, too. "Then it's a good thing I didn't bring him." He looked around him and noticed they had both finished their sandwiches. "Shall we continue on the path?"

She nodded and packed everything back into the bag. They walked and talked. He told her about his nine brothers and sisters, about his work in Bengal where he helped rebuilding it after the Iranian-Indian war. She asked about his dukedom in Bengal and what he did and he told her how he stopped the poaching of Bengal Tigers in Bengal and many other things. And when he said he could speak twelve languages, Eliza felt even smaller than she already was around the guys – height speaking.

"I can speak only three. And you've done so much for your country," she said. "But look at me. I haven't done anything. All I did was get three Master's degrees."

Rama smiled. "Don't worry. Once you're Queen, you'll be able to do lots of things for your country." He paused. "Do you do any community work?"

"I used to, before I went to College. I visited kids in the hospital, once a week."

"That's great!" he said. "Why don't you start again?"

"What? Now?"

"Yes. Chose a small group of guys to come with you, and do that each week. It could be a different hospital each week, or the same." He chuckled. "Besides, you need to step up your game a little. Your sister has set the bar really high with her schools."

"Don't tell me about it," Eliza said, sighing. "She's better than me at everything. Even being a Princess!" She laughed bitterly. "She was always the favorite. And now- I don't know. Something changed while I was gone, and she's not the same than before."

"What's different?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"She's a little off. She used to be the coolest sister, the kindest, and the most supportive. And now I feel like she wants me to be miserable."

"Maybe she's jealous," he said.

"Of what? I have nothing to be jealous of."

"You do, though," he said. "You're the heir to the throne. That's enough for a sibling to be jealous. Trust me, I know. My brother Arjun is second in line for the throne. And you can feel it. The jealousy is palpable."

Eliza chuckled. "You don't really like Arjun, do you?"

"No. Not at all. But he doesn't like me either. So we're game."

She chuckled and they walked for a moment in silence. She thought about what he had said. Picking up her old habit of visiting children in hospitals was actually an interesting idea. Especially with the Selected. There would have to be extra security, but it could be done. Right?

"Hey, look! It's the princess!" a voice said.

Rama and Eliza turned around to see a family watching them from afar. Two parents, two girls, and one boy. The youngest girl was jumping up and down, too excited to do anything else.

Eliza waved at them, and the little girl couldn't hold it in, anymore. She came running to the princess and stopped just a couple meters short, and tried out a little curtsy. "Your Majesty," the little girl said, remembering her manners.

Eliza didn't correct her but instead crouched down to be eye level with the girl. "Hi, what's your name?"

"Luna," the little girl said, blushing bright pink.

"That's a very pretty name, Luna," Eliza said. She looked over at her family and the older sister came over, too.

"Sorry to disturb you, you're Highness," the older girl said. "Come on, Luna."

Luna shook her head and looked at Eliza with stars in her eyes. "You're so pretty," she said. "Can I take a picture with you?"

"Of course," Eliza said.

Luna turned to her sister, who rolled her eyes and went back to her parents to get a phone. She took a picture of Eliza and Luna.

"Would you like to be on the picture, too?" Rama asked the older sister. "I can take the picture."

The girl looked up to the Indian Prince and nodded without a word, handing him the phone. Rama took a picture of the two sisters with Eliza, and then he even took a selfie with the three girls.

"Wait, I want a selfie, too," Eliza said, taking out her phone. "What's your name?" she asked the older sister.

"Jane."

"Well, then. Jane and Luna. Both pretty names. Do you come here often with your family?"

"No, it's the first time," Luna said. "And I can't believe we met you!" she squealed, fangirling over the princess. "This is the best day of my entire life!"

Eliza laughed. "I'm glad I could be part of your best day, then!"

"Come on, Luna, we have to go, now," Jane said. She tugged on her sister's hand and pulled her away. Luna jerked her hand free and ran to hug Eliza who was still crouched. She hugged the little girl back, and then the two sisters joined their parents and brother. Eliza stood up and watched them walk away. Luna waved and she waved back.

"See? You're great with kids," Rama said. "You should really think about starting your hospital visits. Or even schools!"

Eliza looked at him. "Schools are Millie's thing."

Rama nodded and then checked his watch. "We should probably start to head back if we want to be on time for the Report and all."

"Do we have to be on time?" she asked, chuckling. "Okay, fine." They headed back to the motorcycle, meeting some people on the way. Some made a large detour not to be too close – because being close to royalty is scary, right? – and others asked for autographs and pictures. By the time they got to the vehicles, they didn't have a lot of extra time. He gave her her helmet, both put on their leather jackets – all while Ruby and Lukas took pictures and filmed – and they were on their way back to the palace.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Ruby Wright, Report Room._**

The whole stage was dark, save for Ruby in the middle. A lone light was on her.

"Good evening everyone!" Ruby said once the beginning credits were finished. "I can't believe this is already the second Report since the beginning of Princess Elisabeth's Selection, and so many things happened already!" She laughed.

That night would be only for the Selection. Whatever the king had to share with his country would be done another time. Ruby knew the Selection hadn't started the best way, and she needed to fix things. She promised never to let Princess Emilia get to her like she did the previous week. It was her job to paint the perfect picture of the royal family, and she would do it. Even if it meant losing her job because of Millie.

The rest of the stage lit up, revealing the twenty-three princes – and others – sitting in a whole half circle around the stage. Eliza was nowhere to be seen, yet. But that was all part of Ruby's plan.

"We didn't have the chance, last week, to start on the dates the Princess went on since the beginning of her Selection, so we're going to do it now."

At the back of the stage, behind everyone, the screen lit up with pictures of Hans and Eliza on their horses. She walked up to the German Selected, who was sitting on the left side of the stage.

"Earl Christian," Ruby said. "You come from Germany, right?"

Hans nodded. his translator, Mr. Muller walked up behind him in case he needed any help. "Ja, from Germany."

Ruby smiled. "Now, I see you have a translator with you, but on the pictures, you don't. What happened?"

Hans listened as Mr. Muller quickly translated the question in his ear. "Eliza and me did not want, uhm, a three person?"

"A third person?" Ruby said, helping.

"Ja."

"So you kicked him out. Excellent choice!" She laughed, and the other boys laughed, too. "How did you manage to communicate with the Princess, though?"

Hans shrugged, understanding some of the question. "I learn English, she learn German."

"Ah, I see," Ruby said. "Our Princess is a hyperpolyglot, right? She can pick up pretty much any language, now that she knows French and Spanish, too."

On the screen pictures of the snorkeling date with Xander showed, and Ruby also asked a couple question to Xander, about Greece, about snorkeling, and about the date.

"What did you learn about the Princess on your date?"

Xander thought for a moment. "She's not afraid to try new things, and she's a really good swimmer." He didn't add that she looked good in a bathing suit, though, even if it was true.

Ruby chuckled. "Thank you, Your Highness." Ruby then stood to the side as footage and pictures of Eliza's date with Jinhai came up on the screen. The whole atmosphere of the date was soft and light, and Ruby walked up to the Mongolian Prince.

"Your Highness," she said. "We can see here that you love baking. You put so much passion in what you do. Was it easy to share that passion with the Princess?"

Jinhai nodded. "Yes. Eliza- I mean, Princess Elisabeth, sorry, was very open to trying baking. But now I can say that the Princess can do macarons on her own. She added this to her already long list of things she could cook."

"Wow," Ruby said. "Did you hear that? Princess Elisabeth is not only a Princess in high heels and dresses, but she can also cook? I mean, what's more perfect than that?"

After that, photos of Eliza and Tomlin in the stables with Lady the horse and their picnic showed. Ruby was careful not to show or mention anything about the catastrophic end of date at the music festival. Newspapers had already done that.

"Earl Tomlin," Ruby said. "You actually had your horse shipped from New England, right?"

"Yes. When I saw the other Selected with their pets, I thought _why not_?"

"And you had the Princess meet your horse."

Tomlin chuckled. "Yes. The Princess was happy to meet Lady, and she was actually really sweet with her. With all the animals around here, actually. She has a soft heart for animals, and that's something you can't ignore."

Ruby nodded. "Absolutely."

Pictures and footage of Eliza's date with Nikolai in the ice-skating rink showed up on the screen. We could see Niko skating gracefully, then showing Eliza how to skate and then Eliza skating on her own pretty gracefully too. They did not show their fall, though.

"Tsarevich Nikolai," Ruby said, walking over. "You chose to go ice-skating in the middle of the summer. What did the Princess say to that?"

Niko sat up straighter. "She was fine with it. She said it would be a nice change."

"And was it? Did you have fun?"

"Yes," he replied. "I hadn't done that in years, and I had great pleasure doing it again."

"Was Princess Elisabeth a good learner?"

"Yes. But she had already skated when she was younger. All she needed was a little nudge and a little reminder of the ice. She's a great skater."

Ruby smiled her thanks to Niko. For now, they were all following the plan.

The last date to show up on the screen was her date with Rama. Footage of a couple on a motorbike and then walking through the sequoia national park were shown. There was also the moment when the two little girls came up to Eliza for a picture.

"Prince Rama," Ruby said. "What can you say about this particular moment?"

Rama smiled. "The youngest girl seemed to be very fond of the Princess. She asked for pictures and hugged the Princess before leaving." He paused. "Eliza was kind and sweet with the two sisters, and I know she would do well with kids. She's a natural."

Ruby smiled. "That, she is. If I remember correctly, she used to visit hospitals before going away for College."

"Yes, that's true," Rama said. "I suggested she started that again."

"And what did she say?"

"She said she would think about it."

"Thank you, gentlemen," Ruby said, walking over to the center of the stage. "All these young men have started to get to know the princess, and it's not over yet. But right now, I'd like to invite Her Royal Highness, Princess Elisabeth to join me."

As one, the Selected stood and parted in two groups to let Eliza through. She was wearing a magnificent regal dress. The top was white, covered in white lace, with three-quarter sleeves, and the skirt was made of dark purple silk, and ruffled as she walked toward Ruby.

"Your Highness," Ruby said, curtsying briefly – something she never did on the Report, before. "We have talked with your Selected, and now I believe you have a few words for us?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you," Eliza said. She took out a couple white cards from a pocket (!) in the skirt and turned to face the cameras. She looked down at her cards and took a deep breath. "Good evening," she said warmly. "I know I haven't been around much these past few years, but now here I am." She looked down at the cards again, but then put them back in her pocket.

 _No, no, no,_ Ruby thought. _She's putting the cards away. She's going to ruin everything!_

"When I first started this Selection," she started, "I had just come back from five years of College and my final exams. I had no wish to do this. All I wanted was a little vacation." She paused, breathing. "I like to think of myself of a human being before I am Princess, and I know I've done many inappropriate things in the past couple of weeks. I drank too much champagne, I sneaked out to a music festival with Tom, and I locked myself in my room for two days. If it wasn't for these gentlemen, I would probably still be in there." She looked at Niko and smiled. He smiled back, encouraging her to continue. "I needed to decide for myself that I really wanted to do this. So here I am, ready to take this Selection and these men seriously. I am a Princess before I am a woman, and I'll be glad to prove this to you all." She nodded. "Thank you."

Ruby closed off the Report and the cameras went off-line. Eliza sighed, relieved that it was over. What the boys said was kind, but not all of it was true. She was not an outdoorsy person. She was not a hyperpolyglot – Rama was. She was not a good skater. And she did not have a long list of things she could cook.

"You're Highness," Ruby came over to her before the Princess could walk away. "Why didn't you follow the cards?" she asked, worried.

Eliza looked at Ruby's clear blue eyes. "The picture you painted of me was too perfect. It wasn't true." She paused. "I don't want the people to see me as someone I'm not. I need them to know me for who I am. I'm sorry, Ruby."

Ruby nodded. She understood, even if it made her job harder. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

"But thanks for trying, though," Eliza said with a soft smiled. "I really appreciate it." She was about to walk away when she came back to face Ruby. "What happened on the first Report, though? That picture wasn't perfect…"

Ruby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked around, took out her phone and typed something on it before showing it to Eliza.

 _I'm so sorry about last time. Your sister blackmailed me and I didn't have a choice. She forced me to keep all the bad parts in. I didn't know what to do. Just be careful about Millie. I don't know what she's up to._

Eliza looked at Ruby and plastered a smile on her face. "Thank you, Ruby."

Ruby nodded and quickly erased that text on her phone.

* * *

 _ **Hello!**_

 _ **so yeah, sorry for this lengthy chapter... I procrastinated to write it, and when I started it, I couldn't stop. Anyway, not my best chapter, either, I'm not completely satisfied with it. I don't hate it, but I don't absolutely love it. Sooo, yeah.**_

 _ **You guys all wrote amazing One-shots AUs (go check** "In A Blink" **by**_ OctaviaWithStarsForEyes _ **, but beware. I warned you...) and Companions, and I'm so happy you like these characters so much. But now I feel like you all have so many expectations for this story, and I'm afraid I won't be able to meet them all. I'm still stuck about the political stuff, I have no idea what to do with this. Like some said on the Discord chat: "I came for the politics, I stayed for the gayness..." hahaha same, same...**_

 _ **anyway, I'm babbling. Happy New Year and I hope 2019 will be better than 2018 if 2018 wasn't kind to you! Thanks for your support and for still reading this story xD byeeee!**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 ** _Princess Emilia Schreave, her Royal Bedroom._**

It was the first time in months Millie had forgotten to program her alarm clock on her phone, and Saturday morning was passing by without her knowing it.

Until her phone rang, and she woke up with a start. It wasn't the ringtone of her alarm, but of a real phone call. She grumbled and grabbed the phone – noticing the time and how late it already was – and answered.

"What."

"Hi babe," Alaric said in a very joyful voice. "Did I wake you?" he asked, really surprised about that. Millie was usually up and about at eight on a Saturday morning. It was now ten o'clock.

"Hm-hm," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face. "What's up?" she asked, trying to be a bit kinder to her boyfriend.

"Look out the window," he said mysteriously.

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask questions, babe. Just look outside."

"Fine." She sighed and scrambled out of bed, drew the curtains open and saw what Alaric was talking about.

On the grass, just below her window, there were red roses in pots, writing the words _WILL YOU MARRY ME?_

Millie cringed. How pathetic. If he was going to propose, at least do something fancy and worthy of a Princess. She was not a high schooler who he was asking to prom. She rolled her eyes and opened the window. Alaric was down there, still holding the phone to his ear, and so was she.

"Don't move, I'm coming right down," she said, ending the call. She quickly slipped on a Channel dress with some black pumps and tied her hair in a messy but fancy bun. She didn't even have time to take a shower. Ugh.

She walked down the stairs, taking her time, but she met no one. When she stepped outside, she noticed Eliza and some of her harem of boys, all grinning like idiots. _Of course. He had to go and make friends with them_ , she thought. She walked straight to him, careful not to let her heels sink in the grass – _should have worn wedges –_ and stopped in front of him. This was so humiliating.

Alaric dropped on one knee, opened the little black box and presented to the ring to Millie. She approximately guessed the ring was a 3 or 4-carat diamond in a Princess cut. This was humiliating. But if the ring had been a 7-carat diamond, maybe she would have said yes.

"Will you marry me?" Alaric asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I love you so much and I want to make you happy for the rest of your life."

Millie pinched her lips together. She couldn't say yes. She had wanted to break up with him for weeks now, but her father would disapprove. She just couldn't say yes. Or she could, then break off the engagement on some stupid excuse. But no. She didn't want to waste time like that.

"I'm sorry, Al. I can't."

His shoulders slumped and his smile faltered a little. "Millie- Why? I thought-"

"I'm sorry." She turned around and walked away.

"Millie!" Eliza called out, walking after her sister. "What the hell was that?"

"It's none of your business," Millie replied.

"Like hell it is," she said. "You're my sister, and that makes it _my_ business. Al's a really sweet guy, and he's been planning this for weeks. You can't just walk off like that!"

"Liz, are you sure you wanna do this now, in front of all your Harem Princes?" Millie asked coldly.

"What's happening to you?" Eliza said, ignoring her question. "You were the sweetest girl. You were different. You wouldn't sabotage this Selection."

Millie frowned. "So she talked, very well." She paused. "You wanna know what happened?" she huffed. "You left. That's what happened! You left me all alone to do your dirty work, here, while you took your time in College getting not one but THREE degrees! You're the most selfish person I know, and you don't deserve to be Heir to the throne," she hissed.

"I was born first, and I don't have a choice, Millie."

"Exactly. You don't have a choice and you're making a mockery of this whole thing! We're royals, for Christ's sake! The moment you stepped in that College you contaminated your blood by mingling with commoners in College, and you're not worthy of the Throne or the Crown!" she stepped closer, putting her index finger in her sister's face. "And trust me when I say I'll do everything in my power to undermine you in front of the whole country." She looked at the boys behind them, who looked shocked at this outburst. "In front of the whole world, because the whole world is watching you, princess," she said, spitting out that last word. "And-"

"Okay, please, that's enough," Raphael said. Oh, how he hated arguments and fights. "Eliza come on."

"I'm not finished," Millie hissed. "You," she said to Raphael, "have no right to speak to me. You're just a commoner. Not even a Royal. So you better-"

"Princess Emilia," Spencer said, coming over and straightening to his full 6'3'' height. "I'm a Prince, and you need to calm down."

"No you're not," Millie said, eyeing him. "You're just a baron, right _Harrison_?" She raised a sly eyebrow, glad she had marked a point by the look on his paling face. "Yeah. I find out your little secret, _Harrison_. Who's Spencer, by the way? Oh right. The Archduke, son of the King of New Australia. And you are just a little Baron, one of Spencer's friends." She laughed, and looked at all the boys, ready to go on.

"What's going on here?" Andromeda said, walking regally into the gardens. "One can't sleep in on a Saturday morning?"

Even Millie closed her mouth.

"Nothing, everything's fine, Grandmother," Eliza said.

Andromeda looked at the red roses on the ground and read the words. When she saw Alaric's slumped posture, and the rest of the scene, she understood. But only part of it.

"Emilia," Andromeda hissed. "Did you just refuse this man's proposal?"

"Yes," she said, her chin high. "A Queen does not need a husband. And I'll prove you all."

She turned around and walked away, and this time the others let her go.

Eliza turned to Spencer – Harrison? – and looked up at him. "We need to talk."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Princess Eliza's office, First floor._**

Harrison sat down on the leather chair Eliza showed him, and she sat across for him. "Spencer," she started. "Or is it Harrison? What's going on?"

Harrison sighed. "I don't know how she found out," he said, not meeting her gaze. "I-" He took a deep breath and let if out slowly. "Spencer is my best friend, and the youngest son of the King. He-"

"I know about Spencer," Eliza said, taking a file from her drawer. "I have everything on him, here."

"May I see?"

"No, you may not."

"What picture do you have?" he asked.

"Yours."

He took out his phone and scrolled through pictures – he had to go pretty far to find the one he was looking for – and showed her a picture of two blond boys. "The one on the left is me. Harrison. The other one is Spencer. That was in College."

Eliza looked at the picture. They did look a bit alike, but not enough to be considered doppelgangers. "Go on."

"Spence fell in love with a commoner girl, and so to preserve this innocent love, I suggested to take his place for this Selection. If I had come as Baron Harrison Land Marshall, your father wouldn't have been happy with Australia's representation."

"What? What does my father have to do with this?"

Harrison looked at her surprised. "You didn't see the invitation he sent to every government?"

"No," Eliza said. "What did it say?"

"Uh, from memory, something like _I am looking for suitors who can bring something useful to my government, or who will secure a lasting alliance between our countries_. Something like that."

Eliza raised her eyebrows. "I can't believe he did that."

Harrison laughed sourly. "Yeah, well. If my King knows about this, I'm screwed. My whole family is screwed, and I'll be damned for all eternity."

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Eliza said.

"No, I'm serious. He threatened to have my family imprisoned if I screwed up. And I did. Because of your sister. And I still don't know how she knew."

"I don't know either, but I don't know her anymore. She must have spies among the staff, and someone went through your things. Or looked up on the Internet and found a picture. I don't know."

"Are you going to send me home?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I have no idea what to do. If I send you home, you and your family are screwed, as you said. If you stay, you're safe, but Millie might tell everyone, and you're still screwed."

Harrison sighed.

"I think I need to ask my father about this."

"No! Please, just not yet."

"Millie might already have told him."

Both at loss over what to do, they just stared at each other in silence.

Eliza's phone rang. It was a text message.

 **Dad** : In my office. Now.

 **Dad** : With the Australian guy.

 **Dad** : Now.

"We're screwed," Eliza said. "Dad wants to see us."

"Us?" Harrison said, standing up to follow Eliza.

She nodded and they went down the hall a few doors. She knocked on the king's door.

"Come in," he said, and Eliza and Harrison obeyed. The king eyed the boy and put his glasses on to see him better. Millie was standing on the side trying to hide a smug smile.

Eliza sent daggers at her.

"Sit down," he said. He followed Harrison's every move. Then he took the tablet and held it up for both Eliza and the Selected to see. There were two boys on the picture, but it wasn't the same he had shown Eliza earlier. "Is this you?" he asked, pointing to the guy on the left.

"Yes, sir," Harrison said.

"And this?" Oliver said, reading the caption under the image. "That's Spencer?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

Oliver sighed. "Millie found this on an Instagram account belonging to some girl named Marie Hill." He paused. "You know her?"

"Yes," he said after a second of hesitation. There was no going back, now. "She's Spencer girlfriend."

"Hm-hm," Oliver said, looking at the picture. "And why are you here under Spencer's name?"

So Harrison told him exactly what he told Eliza. There was no use hiding anything, now, and Millie was still standing there.

"Does Millie have to be here?" Eliza asked, annoyed. "This is none of her business."

"It is my business, I found the error."

Oliver looked at his two daughters. He'd rather have them fighting than starting some unexpected war with New Australia, even though they were allies at the moment. "Thank you, Emilie. You're dismissed," the King said.

"But-"

"Dismissed."

She sighed and stomped away, making her heels click extra loud on the floor. She didn't bother closing the door, and the guard outside had to close it.

"Now," Oliver said. "I'm going to have a little chat with my good friend, King Erickson."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Harrison said. "I'm not sure that's the best idea."

"And why not?"

"The Australian King, he…" he trailed off, not wanting to say too much, but still needing to explain himself. "You just don't want to anger him right now." He paused. "You know how our military is powerful. Our two countries might be allies, but he's always aimed at being a world power."

Oliver looked at Spencer- Harrison a long moment, debating. "How close are you to the king?" he finally asked.

Harrison thought quickly. "Close enough to know that you don't want to anger him, right now. For now, New Asia and New England have an eye on him."

"You work in the government," Oliver said, reading between the lines. "So he sent you to make sure to have a hand in my government." He paused, leaving space for the young man to deny it. He didn't.

"Father," Eliza said. "New Australia is a big enough kingdom with a military force to be reckoned with. We need to tread carefully. You can't just call him and talk it out like old friends."

They were silent for a moment. Then, Oliver cleared his throat. "I need to talk this over with my advisors."

Eliza knew he was right, but Millie could do so much damage by knowing all this. How could a Selected have gotten into the Selection under another name? Weren't there background checks, even on royals?

"I'm calling for an emergency meeting this afternoon, and I want both of you attending."

Eliza nodded, and both walked out of the room after being dismissed by the king.

Harrison didn't say anything and walked away, heading to the stairs.

"Spen- Harrison, wait!" Eliza called him.

"I'm sorry, Eliza. But this is out of either your hands or mine. We'll know this afternoon." He paused. "But I need to warn my family in case King Erickson gets wind of this." He excused himself and went to his room, leaving Eliza alone in the Hall.

"Not so glamorous, the life of a princess politician, is it?" Millie asked, coming out from behind a pillar. "What? Your Political Science degree didn't help you? How surprising. I thought your five years away at College would at least be of some use in a situation like this."

"How long have you known about Spencer?"

"You mean Harrison?" she chuckled. "Just a few days. But I couldn't make an accusation without being sure I was right. Backing him into a corner this morning told me I was right. If he hadn't come between us, I wouldn't have said anything."

"You always lash out when you're angry," Eliza said, numb.

"I know. You liked him?"

"I didn't even know him that well," she said.

"Too bad, then. I'm sure Dad is going to ship him home, and boom. First elimination." She grinned.

"You don't know that. We're discussing it this afternoon in a-"

"In an emergency meeting, I know. How predictable." She laughed. "You know, you're just as bad as he is?"

"Who?"

"Dad, duh." Millie rolled her eyes. "You're both too soft for this job." That said, she walked away, clicking her heels on the marble floor.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _King Oliver, Meeting room, 3 pm._**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for summoning you on a Saturday afternoon, but we have some important business to discuss," the king said from the end of the long mahogany table, where he had a view of everyone present. He explained the situation of the New Australian representative, without going into too much detail.

"What I don't know, is if King Erickson knows of this yet," he finished.

"This is scandalous!" one of the advisors said. "This young man, whatever his name is, made a mockery of our country. And so did his King! Did he think us so gullible?"

"I agree," another one added. "I say he goes back home immediately."

"But what about his family?" Eliza asked. "The king threatened to imprison them."

"I don't bloody care about his family, Your Royal Highness. He brought that upon himself by suggesting such an idea," a tall man burst out.

Harrison sat straighter. "I'm right here, you can talk to me, sir."

The man ignored Harrison, and continued his banter. "He needs to be sent away now, Your Majesty."

"No, he should stay," a woman in her mid-thirties said. "If we keep him without revealing any of this, both he and his family will be safe."

"Nonsense," another woman said. "This is going to get out. We can't contain this, now."

"We were all sworn to secrecy when we accepted this job," the first woman said. "Who else knows about this?"

"Millie and pretty much most of the Selected," Eliza said. "They were there when she said it."

Oliver was lost in thought, his brow furrowed over this impossible matter. "Let's take it to a vote," he finally said to his twelve advisors. "All of you who want to keep the boy raise your hand." He counted five. "All of you who want to send him home?" He counted six. One hadn't voted.

He looked at Harrison. "I'm sorry, son. But you'll have to go home."

"What? No! This is ridiculous!" Eliza said.

"Majority rules, Elisabeth." He sighed. "But I'm still going to call King Erickson to clear the matter. I don't want a war on my hands with my own allies."

He stood, indicating that the meeting was over and headed to his office. He checked the time in New Australia, where it was already the next day eleven in the morning. "Eh, good enough," he mumbled.

He had his personal assistant prepare the video conference room and put a call through to the New Australian king.

"It's ready sir, he's on the line."

"Thank you." Oliver quickly went to the video conference room where a large screen with a large King Erickson on it was waiting.

"Oliver!" King Erickson said. "It's been a long time. I hope Spencer is doing fine?"

"Erickson," Oliver replied. "Yes, it's been a long time. How is your wife, Vivian?"

"Fine, fine, thank you." He chuckled in his deep voice. Although the chuckle didn't seem really genuine. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, friend?"

Oliver braced himself. He knew how calculating and strategic Erickson was, he needed to choose his words carefully. "We need to discuss Spencer," he finally said. "How is he doing, by the way? I heard he had a girlfriend, Marie Hill. Are they getting married soon?"

Erickson frowned. "What happened?" he said very slowly.

Oliver took a deep breath. "My daughter found out he was Harrison and not Spencer."

Erickson paced in his own office. "I can explain."

"There's nothing to explain," Oliver said.

"He's not finished hearing about this," Erickson mumbled.

"What do want in exchange for safe passage for Harrison's family, Erickson?"

The Australian king looked up and barked a laugh. "You're serious?"

"Yes. Let the boy and his family alone. What do you want?" Oliver said, sweating a little. He knew Erickson could ask for anything.

The Australian king thought for a moment. "I know you haven't yet chosen a side on the Monagasian War, Oliver. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll let his family go if you join forces with me." He paused and when he saw Oliver's skeptical look, he continued. "Hear me out, Oliver. You and I both know we are big powers in this world. But so are New Asia and The Russian Empire. And right now, they're pinning me down. But if you side with me, we can fight back and end this stupid war." He glared at Oliver through the screen, daring him to say no.

Oliver kept his very serious stance. "I have two conditions."

Erickson snorted. "Fire away."

"First, we let Elisabeth finish her Selection without being biased with this decision, then I'll join forces with you. Second, we keep this agreement secret until the end of the Selection."

"Deal," Erickson said. "It's a wise suggestion, friend." He paused. "I'll have a proxy fly to Illéa to sign our agreement in the next few days."

"Excellent. I'll be waiting for the proxy, then."

They ended the call and Oliver sighed. He sponged up the perspiration on his brow and sat in his chair. He lit a cigar and smoked it slowly.

Once he was done, he walked out, where both Eliza and Harrison were waiting on a settee in the corridor.

"Well?" Eliza asked, standing, and Harry followed.

"You're going home, son, and your family will be safe. If you want to stay in Illéa and fly your family here, too, you're welcome to do it. But the Selection is over for you. I'm sorry."

Harrison nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me." Oliver walked away, leaving the two young people in the hall, alone.

"I'm so sorry," Eliza said. "Millie's gonna pay for this."

"Don't worry. It was a risk, and I really didn't think someone would notice. The Australian royal family is quite secretive and private, and I didn't think there would be pictures of us on the Internet." He paused. "But thank you, for standing up for me."

"You stood up for me, so…" she trailed off.

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to the others and pack my things." He stood and started to walk away.

"Wait! What are you going to do after that? Go back to Australia, or fly your family to Illéa?"

"I'll go to Australia. If things heat up, we'll come back."

She nodded and let him go.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's parlor, 5 pm._**

"I'm telling you, this one is better," Raphael said, holding it up.

"You're biased," Latreall said.

"Yeah, I know. But it's still true."

"Are you kidding me?" Sebastien said. "You don't even know how to make it!"

Caspian laughed. "They do have better milk, in Switzerland. I mean, have you seen their cows?"

Some of the boys laughed. Others didn't want to partake in this petty argument.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Rafe called out.

Eliza and Harrison came in.

"I'm leaving, guys," Harrison said, keeping his emotions in check. "I just wanted to say goodbye."

Everyone froze in the room. What the hell? He was leaving? Harrison shook hands with some, hugged other, and just nodded to the remaining ones. Everyone was shook. When he was gone, Eliza lingered, seeing the many bars and boxes of chocolate on the table.

"What were you guys doing?" she said, taking a piece of chocolate her herself.

"They were debating if Swiss chocolate was better than Belgian chocolate," Cian said, rolling his eyes.

 _We've been trying to avoid a war with Australia, and these guys argue over chocolate?_ she thought, rolling her eyes. She took two pieces, though, one of each side and tasted them. "Swiss chocolate is better." She walked away.

* * *

 _ **Hi! Ha, tea was spilled. I hope you liked this! :D**_

 _ **Sorry, there is no aesthetics for this chapter on the Pinterest board... Next time!**_

 _ **Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter xD**_

 _ **~ Thanks to**_ Celegra123 _ **for Harrison/Spencer, it was fun writing for him and spilling the tea. I hope you won't hate me for the first elimination? :S**_

 _ **see ya soon!**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

On Monday afternoon, Eliza was sitting in her office with Henri, going over paperwork and organizational things for her first visit at the Angeles Kids Hospital. Since it had been mentioned in the last Report, she had to do it. And to be honest, it was something she was actually looking forward to doing again.

There were lots of things to think about. Hours of the visit, security clearance, the boys she would be going with – which she decided not to select at random but to ask for volunteers since not everyone liked hospitals – and if they were bringing gifts to the visited kids. They also had to decide if Ruby and a crew came to record, film, and take pictures, and if they would tell the press about it beforehand. Henri was going to check with the hospital if it was possible.

Henri looked at his planner. "So tomorrow you select a date?"

"Yes. And then Wednesday is the hospital visit."

"And Thursday another date. What about Friday? A date, too?" he asked

"We'll see. Maybe I'm just going to give a free day to the guys and see what they do with it."

Henri chuckled. "You're testing them."

"Kind of," she replied. "I just don't want this selection to become a chore for everyone. If we have some liberties, it's fine, too."

"Good thinking." He paused, writing something down in his organization binder. "Oh, and one more thing. Your birthday is coming up in a few weeks."

"Don't remind me," she said. "Can't we just ignore it?"

"Unfortunately, we can't. You're turning twenty-five, which is a quarter of a century."

Eliza groaned.

"If it had been twenty-four or twenty-six, maybe. But not this year."

"Fine. Then something small and private. Just us, here," she said

Henri chuckled uncomfortably. "Your, uhm, father wanted something big."

"Let me guess. A Ball? No. I'm not making a fool of myself again."

Henri smirked. "What about a charity dinner? And the boys organize it and choose the charity. You won't have to do anything except showing up."

Eliza snorted. "They're princes and whatnot. They don't really do _event organization_."

"Eliza," Henri said. "You're going to be Queen. One of these guys is going to be your Consort. And one of their jobs is going to be _Event Organizer_. They need to start doing it now."

"But that's a Princess or Queen's job."

"You'd be surprised at what a guy can do," he said with a chuckle. "Look, you know what? I'm going to suggest it to them. If they take the bait and actually want to do this, then by all means, let them. If not, I'll hire someone. Or I'll ask your sister," he said slowly, not sure about that idea as he spoke it.

"No way. You don't ask Millie. She's going to make everything go haywire and humiliate me in front of everyone."

Henri wrote something in his notes. "Speaking of Millie, you should know she has lots of allies." He sighed before continuing. "I started working here the second year you were in Waverly. And in those four years I was here and you weren't, I saw and heard things."

"Like what?" she asked, leaning on the backrest of her chair, crossing her arms.

He searched Eliza's eyes, and debated if he should tell her. But then he decided if she was going to prevail, she better know who she was up against. "The year before you came back, I heard the King and the Queen arguing. Queen Elinor was questioning your ability to be a good Queen after being away for so long. But your father said that you were stronger and wiser than she gave you credit for." He paused. "They argued for some time, and Elinor even said your sister was better trained and ready for it. The King said that your studies would help you be a better Queen and that he didn't regret letting you go for a while. She gave him the benefit of the doubt. And from what I gather, your father came up with the idea of an international selection to prove to your mother that you were ready to take the throne."

Eliza stared at him. "Who else knows about this, Henri?"

"For all I know, no one else," he replied, feeling lighter. Keeping this secret to himself had weighed on his shoulders more than he wanted to admit.

"That means Millie knows."

"Probably," he said.

Eliza took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So _both_ my mother and my sister are waiting for the moment I screw up," she said softly, realization hitting her in the face.

"Something like that."

"And Millie blackmailed Ruby not to edit the Ball interview," Eliza said. "I need to secure her job with dad before Millie decides to fire her."

"You better do that quickly," Henri said. "Millie has allies everywhere: some of the staff are on her side, and lots of influential people – mostly Twos, journalists, and celebrities – and she works fasts."

Eliza nodded. "Do you know anyone we can trust to keep an eye on what she does? I don't know, something to spy on her?"

Henri thought for a moment. "If she finds out it's me, I'll be fired."

"It'll be my idea. Whoever you hire it will be under my name. or Linus. Do this with Linus. He'll be more than happy to do that, and to do some spying himself."

Henri raised an eyebrow. "Is there something I should know about him?"

"It's a long story," she replied, dodging the question.

Henri nodded and shrugged. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Later, after dinner._**

Eliza realized she hadn't spent any time with the Selected during the day. Turns out organizing things with Henri took more time than expected. But she noticed they were a bit more closed off and nervous during dinner. In fact, they had been ever since Millie had found out about Harrison. What else that woman had planned, Eliza could only guess. But she had had the good idea to have her father change Ruby's contract where only _he_ could fire her. Millie had no power over Ruby's job, anymore.

After changing in something more comfortable than an evening gown and heels – comfy pants, sneakers, a t-shirt, and a sweater – she headed outside to have a change of air and scenery. She was surprised to find a small group of guys huddled together around a small bonfire, grilling marshmallows.

"Oh," she said, stumbling upon the group. "I didn't know you were out here."

"Didn't you see the fire?" Rance asked, surprised.

"Not right away," she said. "You guys are a little hidden. I didn't see you from the garden door. And when I saw the fire, I couldn't see clearly who it was."

"Good," Alek said.

"Why?" Eliza asked

He looked around, making sure no one was around. "Because a Princess is out there to get at us," he said.

Eliza laughed. "You're scared of Millie?"

"Uhm, sorry, but yeah," Caspian said. "If she can find out Spencer was actually Harrison in two weeks, who knows what else she'll find on us."

Eliza sat down without being invited, between Otávio and CJ. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

"It isn't your fault," Jericho said. "She's the devil incarnated. No offense."

Eliza chuckled. "None taken." She paused. "Do you guys have stuff to hide? Things you don't want her to find out?"

"Nah," Cian said. "At least not for me." He looked at the others.

"Beside the fact that I have heart disease?" Jericho said. "I don't think so."

"You have heart disease?" Eliza asked, surprised. "I didn't know that."

Jericho shrugged. "It's not going to get me eliminated, is it?"

"Of course not," Eliza said.

"Unless Millie decides to get involved in this," Alek said. "I'm sure she could find something on all of us to get us kicked out."

"I won't let it happen," Eliza said.

"She seemed pretty inclined towards it," Rance added.

"You're not saying anything, Otávio," Alek said. "What do you think?"

He looked up from staring at the flames dancing in the middle of the group. "I don't have anything to hide. Whatever she finds on me, nothing is important."

"Of course, you don't have anything to hide. You're religious," Alek said. "No offense. But I don't imagine you breaking the law or anything."

Otávio chuckled and tilted his head to the left. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean I don't want to."

The boys chuckled.

"I saw you leaving the Palace, yesterday morning," Caspian said. "Where were you going?"

Otávio looked up at the French prince. "Church."

"Oh," Caspian said.

"Are you surprised?" CJ said. "Why wouldn't he go? He's a pastor."

"I know, I just thought- I don't know." Caspian shrugged and pulled out the bag of marshmallows from next to him. "Marshmallow, anyone?"

 _Yeahs_ came from everyone and Otávio shook his head, chuckling to himself. People always chickened out when religious topics came up. He noticed Alek and Rance sitting really close and wondered at it.

Now that everyone was roasting their marshmallows over the fire on thin sticks, Cian made sure his stick was secured between two stones and took out a guitar from behind him. Eliza hadn't noticed the guitar case.

Without waiting, he pinched the strings and started playing some chords.

"Oh, I know that song!" Rance said.

Both Cian and Rance started singing in two different voices and Eliza smiled. It was beautiful, and definitely a nice change from the drama and the selection. She could almost forget she was hosting the selection, and that she was just spending a nice evening with some friends. She brought her knees of to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. When the song ended, everyone clapped and asked for another one.

Rance and Jericho ran back inside to get their own instruments, and Jericho came back with Niko too. He had bumped into him while coming out of his room with his violin. Niko had been intrigued by it, not knowing that Jericho played the violin.

"Hey, Niko," Eliza said. "Glad you could join us."

He nodded at her and offered her a small smiled. The light of the dancing flames on his face made him look a bit eerie, but Eliza thought it was amazing. Too bad she had forgotten her phone in her room and she couldn't take pictures.

Just then, Alek took out a small camera from his bag next to him and he snapped pictures of the evening, taking group pictures and also some aesthetic ones – like the flames, Cian's fingers on the guitar or Jericho's violin, and Rance also playing. Cian and he played and sang duets, while Jericho improvised melodies on the songs.

"Could you send me some of those photos?" Eliza asked. "I forgot my phone…"

"She likes to take selfies with her dates," Niko commented, a hint of a smirk on his face. Out of all the boys present, he was the only one who had a date with her.

The others chuckled.

"What?" Eliza said on the defensive. "I like making memories. They're maybe not the best photos and wouldn't win _Best Photo Of The Year_ prize, but they help me store my memories."

"I didn't say anything," Alek said with a smirk. "But sure, I can send some to you if you want." He grinned and handed her the camera. "You want to take a selfie with all of us?"

Eliza smiled and took the camera. "I can try."

"And if you need longer arms, I can take the picture," Niko offered. Eliza knew her arms would be too short for a nine-person group, so Niko took the selfie, and it turned out pretty good.

They chatted on until late in the night, and even early in the morning. Only when Linus came to tell them it was getting late – it was two in the morning – did they finally get up and head to bed.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Tuesday morning, Men's Parlor._**

After breakfast, Eliza headed directly to the Men's Parlor, even before the guys got there. She had a few things to look over with Henri before they arrived. One after the other, they filed into the room and sat at their regular places – chairs, couches, armchairs, with or without a table – and waited.

Once everyone was there, Henri asked to have their attention.

"Gentlemen," he said. "Her Royal Highness is here for two things, this morning." He nodded at Eliza, her cue to speak.

"Hi," she said, a grin on her face. "So, yeah. Two things. First, today's date." She really needed to be careful of how she spoke, and she knew it. But right now, she didn't care. Henri handed her the black box and Eliza fished out a paper.

"Sebastian," she read out loud.

"Yes! Finally," the man said, grinning.

Some of the boys whistled and cheered him on. Others rolled their eyes at his show. Even though it wasn't a show. He was really looking forward to this date with the Princess, and Eliza knew it. He had told her at some point.

Eliza chuckled. "Afternoon or evening? And would you lik-"

"Afternoon, and I'm taking care of everything."

"Very well," Eliza said. "Thank you." She put the box away and sat on the edge of a table. "Now, for the second matter I'm here. As you may recall, something was mentioned on the Report, on Friday, and now that it's out there, I have to do it."

The boys looked at each other, question marks in their eyes.

"I'm going to start doing some hospital visits again, and you're going to come with me."

The reactions were very mixed among the boys. Some grinned, other paled. Just as she had thought.

"Now, I know some of you may not like hospitals, so I'm not going to select names at random as I do for the dates. You're going to choose if you want to come. For the first visit, we're going to the Angeles Kids Hospital, and I would like it if three or four of you could come with me. Don't worry, there will be one visit a week in different Provinces, so you'll all be able to come if you want. I just don't want to overwhelm the staff and kids in the hospital. So we're going to do small groups." She paused. "We're going tomorrow afternoon. Who wants to come for the first visit?"

Seven hands shot up. Not as much as she'd thought, but it was enough for the first visit. Maybe others would volunteer once they heard the stories of the first ones.

"Excellent." She chose four among the seven hands. "Rama, Latreall, Caspian, and Raphael." The three others were Xander, Jinhai, and Hans. "I promise you'll get to come on the next visit." Henri wrote down the four names and Eliza left the Men's Parlor, leaving them to their own devices with Henri.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Prince Sebastian Alexander Johan Frederick van Helms, Entrance Hall, 2 p.m._**

Sebastian was waiting in the Entrance Hall, checking the time on his favorite watch, a Rolex Sea-Dweller with a leather strap. It was something from home, and he liked keeping an eye on it from time to time.

But Eliza was late. Five minutes already.

Then he heard light steps coming really fast down the stairs, and red hair flying behind the princess. She was wearing a blue knee-length dress with a yellow cardigan, and some brown flats, and a large brimmed brown hat.

"I'm so sorry," she said, coming over. "I had to take care of something…" she trailed off. "My sister."

Sebastian's mouth formed an 'O'. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry." She took a deep breath, took off her hat and tied her hair in a messy bun on the nape of her neck. "Where are we going?"

The Belgian prince grinned. "Los Angeles Zoo. You already been there?"

"Uhm, maybe in another life. When I was still young and innocent."

Both laughed and they headed to the hangar where Linus and the Ruby Crew was waiting for them. They stepped into the limo and drove off. Linus was sitting in the back, too, since he didn't have the special Limo permit. It was an awkward drive, where Linus and Eliza tried to avoid each other's gazes. Linus because he knew the moment he would look at her he wouldn't be able to look away, and Eliza because she still didn't know what to do about him. Of course, Sebastian noticed the awkward tension in the car and he made a mental note to ask about it.

Thirty minutes later, after being stuck in traffic for fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at their destination. Sebastien came out first, then helped the Princess get out by holding her hand. He noticed Linus rolling his eyes.

Sebastian paid for both of them, and they walked in, Linus following a few paces behind – too far to hear what they said in private, but not too far away to intervene if something went wrong – and they stopped in front of the first animals: crocodiles.

Eliza snorted. "My sister would love him as a handbag," she joked.

"Oh, my God," Sebastian said. "Poor crocodile. Don't ever say that loudly in front of animals. They have feelings you know?"

Eliza looked up at Sebastian and wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

They continued to walk in silence, looking at everything around them – families, animals, food stands – until they arrived in front of the flamingos.

"So," she said, "why the zoo?"

Sebastian chuckled. "At first, I wanted to go on a safari with you, but when I asked for clearance on that, they said it was not possible. For security reasons, and time. So then I quickly checked on the Internet if there was a big enough zoo in Angeles, and since there was one in LA, I thought, _why not?_ "

Eliza chuckled. "And you like animals?"

"Yeah. I actually spend most of my time in an animal sanctuary and wildlife conservation center. And I sometimes even go on the field with the research group."

"Oh, wow," Eliza said. "That's actually super interesting!"

"Here, look," he said, taking out his phone from his pocket he scrolled through some pictures and showed her pictures of him with lions. On one, he was giving a kiss to a giant lion. On another, he was hugging a lion. He was even in a group hug with several leopards. Or scratching the head of a wolf.

Eliza was speechless. "I'm so sorry about what I said about the crocodiles," she said, feeling awful.

"It's okay. And you were probably right. About what your sister would say."

They continued walking, and he explained to her many things about the animals, things that weren't written on the information bulletin boards in front of the cages. He told her stories of his work, of working on the field, of making friends with all kinds of animals.

"Do you have a scar? Or something done by a tooth or a claw?" she asked.

He laughed. "I do have a scar, but it was not made by an animal." He pointed at the little scar he had on his eyebrow. "I fell from my bike in elementary school." He chuckled. "Animals won't hurt you if you don't scare them or threaten them. They're like little kids. If you're nice to them, they trust you."

"Huh, even lions?"

"Especially lions."

They talked some more, and then they came to a place where there were lots of food stands.

"Are you hungry?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah," Eliza said. "Definitely."

Sebastian grinned. "Great. What are you hungry for?"

Eliza looked at all the stands. "Ooh. Ice cream. You?"

"Waffles," he said without hesitation. He headed to the ice cream vendor and Eliza chose a three-flavor ice cream – Vanilla, Pistachio, and Raspberry, with lots of sprinkles. He then bought a waffle and they continued on their way. Some people recognized them, despite Eliza's large hat and sunglasses, and Sebastian sunglasses, too, and asked to take pictures and autographs. It was mostly kids, and the parents and other adults stayed away and stared at them. Eliza didn't really notice it, though.

They saw hyenas, zebras, gorillas, lions – of course –, giraffes, monkeys, tigers, bears, elephants, and many other animals. Eliza and Sebastian took selfies along the way with the animals, their food, and with random kids who approached them. All in all, they had a great time, and both of them almost forgot about the whole Selection, about being royals, and both were back in their _being normal_ days.

Until Linus reminded them that it was time to go if they didn't want to get stuck in the end-of-the-day-traffic-jam and to be on time for dinner.

But before leaving, they stopped at the souvenir shop and bought little stuffed animals. Seb chose a lion, and Eliza took a tiger. She knew she would keep it until the end of time, so she had to hide it from evil Millie.

They chatted on the ride home, and the chauffeur took another route, avoiding all traffic, and they got on time at the Palace. They stepped out of the car and when they were finally alone in the garden – when neither Linus nor Ruby and her team was following – Sebastian said:

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said, smiling, still giddy about her amazing afternoon.

"What's with you and your bodyguard?"

Eliza kept her smile on her face. "What do you mean?"

"You two keep avoiding each other. The ride to the zoo was really intense."

Eliza's smile faltered and her shoulders slumped a little. "It's complicated," she said. "We've been living under the same roof ever since I went to College. He was masquerading as my cousin, but I think there was something more."

" _Was_ something more?"

"Is. I don't know." She took a deep breath and let it out. "Look, if Millie finds out my bodyguard was in love with me, I can already imagine the headlines in the newspapers. She can't know." Her voice was a little desperate.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," he said. Then, "Do you love him?"

"I don't know," she said, honestly. "But I don't think so. I can't, anyway."

He chuckled. "Well, thanks for telling me."

"Thanks for this amazing afternoon," she said. "I forgot who I was for a while, and it felt good."

"Yeah, me too," he smiled. He tucked a strand of wild red hair behind her hair. "You know, I was really looking forward to our date, and it was even better than I imagined."

She chuckled. "I'm sure you were the only one looking forward to a date with me," she said sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised," he said. "Now that we all got to know you a bit better, lots of these boys are warming up to you. Especially since Millie came out to root us out."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be surprised if a group of guys took her side, though. If she does get what she wants, she'd be a worthy foe for one's country, and so they'd better have her on their side."

Sebastian laughed. "Well I'm staying on your side."

"Thanks," she said.

They headed inside, and he walked her up to her room. Before leaving to get ready for dinner, he planted a quick kiss on her cheek and walked away.

* * *

 _ **Heyyy! I hope you like this chapter! Sorry, there were lots of different scenes, but yeah.**_

 _ **So I need you to answer this question if you submitted an OC** (you don't have to answer if you already did on Discord) **: Would your OC volunteer for the hospital visits or not? would he go if he really had to go, or would he completely chicken out? and what would he do there? Does he like kids?** (you can answer either in review or PM or though Discord) **. Thanks!**_

 _ **And there hasn't been a One-Shot in some time, if you have an idea for one, fire! xD**_

 _ **thanks for reading, reviewing, and for your support! see ya for the next chapter!**_

 _ **PS: oh, and there is an aesthetic for this chapter, go check it out! :D**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Wednesday afternoon, when the visiting group had changed into some more practical – yet still elegant – clothes, they all climbed into the limo that would take them to the Angeles Kids Hospital. Security details would be following in a car behind, and the camera crew, too. They had told the press about the visit, but they would only be allowed to stay outside the hospital for the duration of the visit.

"What's in your bag?" Raphael asked Latreall, once they had left the palace grounds.

"It's a secret," he said.

"Pretty sure they're going to check our bags before we get in," Caspian said. "Right?" he asked Eliza.

She shrugged. "I don't know. We'll see I guess."

"But seriously, though," Rama asked. "What do you have in your bag, Lat?"

He rolled his eyes. "Marbles," he said.

"This guy is marbles," Caspian said. "That's how you say it, right?" the French prince wasn't so sure about the English expression.

" _He lost his marbles_ ," Eliza said, correcting him. "So yes, pretty close." She chuckled.

"He found them, though," Rama said, "since they're in his bag".

Everyone laughed.

"Why are you taking marbles with you?" Eliza asked, genuinely curious.

"You'll see," he said. "What about you, Raph? What are _you_ carrying in your bag?"

"Chocolate," everyone said at the same time, laughing, and Raphael chuckled. "Yes. Chocolate."

"Are you planning to win every child with chocolate?" Eliza asked, grinning.

"I'm planning to win the whole world with chocolate," he replied with a dashing smirk.

"Couldn't that be the end of the war?" Rama said. "Switzerland giving chocolate to everyone?"

Eliza and the others burst out laughing. "If only it was that simple."

They chatted along the fifteen-minute ride, and then got out of the car right in front of the Hospital. Eliza came out last, helped by Raphael who held out his hand for her. They were greeted by hordes of journalists and photographers already asking them questions and taking pictures. They had all been briefed beforehand not to say anything. Just _smile and wave_.

Linus had sent a few security guards ahead of them, so they could contain the mass of reporters cramming the entrance. The five visitors walked in after posing for a group photo and were welcomed by the Hospital director, Mr. Thomas Figueroa. He welcomed them with a bright smile for the cameras and Ruby's crew, but then he was a bit cold with them.

He showed them where to start the visits and then left them to it with the nurses.

Eliza and the four guys entered a room with four kids, two on each side, attached to IV bags next to their beds.

"Look, it's the Princess!" one of the girls said, sitting up in her bed. "Oh my God!"

"Hi!" Eliza said, coming over. "What's your name?"

"Alice."

"Well, Alice," Eliza said, sitting on her bed, "It's a pleasure to meet you." The four boys came up behind Eliza. She looked up at them. "You probably saw them on TV, but this is Latreall, Caspian, Rama, and Raphael."

"Are you all princes?" Rosa, the little girl on the other bed, asked, eyes wide.

"Almost," Raphael said. "They are, I'm not. I'm just a Military guy."

"Where's you're uniform?" a boy asked.

The visitors turned around to see the two boys on the other side of the room. The young men all spread out and sat on the different beds.

"I only wear my uniform when I'm on duty," Raphael said.

"Or on very formal occasions," Eliza added, remembering the Ball and his boots. _And those boots_! She chuckled.

"Yeah, and formal occasions," Raphael agreed.

"What are your names?" Latreall asked the three other kids who hadn't presented themselves.

"This is Rosa, I'm Louis, and he's Arthur," the boy who had asked about the uniform said.

"Well, nice to meet you," Caspian said.

"Hey I brought something for you guys," Raphael said, lifting his bag on Arthur's bed. "This comes all the way from Switzerland, and I bet you've never tasted anything like this." He smirked and handed out Cailler chocolate bars to the children. Their eyes opened up like saucers and they took the chocolate. While Rosa hesitated with the chocolate in her hand, the three others tore the wrapping off and ate greedily.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Eliza asked Rosa.

"I'm not sure I can eat it," she said, barely above a whisper. "I have diabetes."

Eliza looked for a nurse who came in.

"It's okay, Rosa," the nurse said. "If you eat a little piece each day, it's alright." She took the chocolate bar from the girl, opened it, and cut off a centimeter of the chocolate bar. "Here. You can have the rest tomorrow and the following days."

Rosa took the piece and ate it, enjoying every millimeter of the treat.

They chatted some more with the kids, took pictures with them, and answered all their questions. The nurses all kept their distance of the Royals, while the kids were all living in a dream.

Then they said goodbye and went to the next room, and the next, and the next.

At some point, kids were coming out of their rooms to see for themselves the royals who were really there. The playroom quickly filled up, and Latreall decided it was a good time to get his marbles out of his bag. The four others watched him start a track with random things he found in the playroom – wooden train tracks, legos, books, and so on – and they just sat there. The smaller kids came up to Eliza and the other boys to sit on their laps, and Raphael and Rama were pulled into a game with Star Wars figurines.

A little girl asked Caspian to read him a book, and after a while, Latreall was done with his track.

"Okay, everyone ready?" he said, kneeling on the floor. "Who wants to put the first marble?"

"Me!" several kids said at the same time.

So Latreall gave them all marbles and they put them at the beginning of the track. They rolled all the way to the bottom of the track, and cheers went up in the playroom. Others wanted to try, and Latreall started another track – race track this time, for two marbles at a time – and the kids were careful not to knock everything over. The first track was knocked down by a too excited child who wanted to put a tennis ball in the tracks. Everyone laughed, and Latreall could use the stuff on the first track to finish the second.

His third track went all the way into the hall, and Ruby was delighted to see how loved he was by the kids and ordered lots of pictures to be taken during the afternoon.

Eliza noticed Rama building tiny bows and arrows out of pencils, strings, and elastics. He was explaining to the older boys how to make them, and how to launch the 'arrows' properly. The kids were ecstatic and started shooting nerf gun bullets at each other with the makeshift bows.

"Man, this is cool," Raphael said. "You do archery?"

"Yeah," Rama replied. "But I haven't found any archery stuff in the Palace." He chuckled. "I've been doing these little bows and shooting pencils in my room for a couple weeks."

Raphael laughed. "I'm sure there is some archery material, there, Rama. Why didn't you ask Eliza?"

Rama shrugged. "I don't know. Didn't think it was worth bothering her with."

"Nonsense," Raphael said, "I'm sure other guys would want to do that, too, don't you think?"

"Maybe." He looked at the Swiss Lieutenant. "You're into archery, too?"

"Nah, I'm more of a gun person. We don't really use bows and arrows in the Military."

Caspian laughed, overhearing their conversation. "I like archery," he said. "We should ask Eliza, though."

Rama grinned. "Yeah. I'll ask her on the way home."

The three boys looked over at Eliza, who was reading a book to a group of children around her. Two little girls were on her lap, their heads again Eliza's shoulders, and the others were sitting cross-legged on the floor, listening intently to the story.

"She's really good with kids, by the way," Caspian said.

"Yeah," Raphael agreed. "Maybe better than with adults."

"Or maybe the adults are wary of her," Rama said. "All those past articles didn't really help. I mean…" he trailed off, thinking how to phrase his thoughts. "She's supposed to be their next Queen. But what has she done recently? Gotten drunk, high, and sneaked out."

"I don't think that's how it was," Raphael said, defending her.

"Rama's right," Caspian said. "That's the only thing they see. They don't see her as we do."

They were silent for a moment, before loud cheers erupted from the other side of the room. Latreall's marble track was a success, and the first race had found its winner. Latreall was literally swarmed by kids wanting to try the tracks, and he seemed to love their attention and their cuteness.

When Eliza finished the story, she was about to take another book when Linus came up behind her.

"It's late, Eliza," he whispered. "We need to get you guys back home."

"Already? But we just got here?"

Linus chuckled and checked his watch. "We've been here for four hours. The kids have had more excitement than they're used to." He paused. "That's what the nurse told me."

Eliza sighed. "Four hours? How is that possible?"

"Are you leaving already, princess?" the little girl on her lap asked, having followed the conversation.

Eliza looked back down. "Yeah. But I really had lots of fun with you guys!"

"Me too!" the little girl said, hugging the princess tightly, as if her life depended on it.

Eliza stood, still with the little girl in her arms and gently put her down. The poor child looked heartbroken at being abandoned like this by the princess.

Rama, Caspian, and Raphael stood, too, understanding it was soon the end. Latreall was so focused on his little world with his marbles, the tracks, and the kids, that he didn't see anything. Only when Rama nudged his shoulder did he look up and see that the group was ready to leave soon.

"Oh, yeah. I'll be right there." He took back his marbles, replacing them by some older ones a kid had found in a drawer somewhere, and realized with relief that most of the material he had taken was unused, still in the broken pile of the first track. He gathered his things and joined the others.

All the kids were looking up at the visitors.

"We were so happy to be able to spend the afternoon with each and every one of you," Eliza said. "You are all so precious and special. And I really hope you'll get better."

"Thanks," a boy said, not really happy. "I won't though."

Rama crouched next to the boy. "Why is that, buddy?"

The boy shrugged. "You can't see it, but I'm terminal. I'm gonna die here, anyway."

That was a blow to Rama and the others. How could a kid – how old was he? Eight? Nine? – could say something like that and not be a total mess. "But it was nice playing with you," he said, looking up. "You like Star Wars?" He was one of the kids Rama had played with earlier.

"Yeah, I do very much," Rama said.

"Then, next time you watch it, you'll think of me, okay?"

Rama nodded, unable to trust his voice. This kid was going to make him cry in front of everyone. "Sure. What's your name, kid?"

"Liam."

"Well, then, Liam. I will definitely think of you when I watch Star Wars."

Liam unexpectedly hugged the Indian prince, before walking away and back to his room, without looking back.

After saying goodbye, they headed outside, where a large group of journalists, photographers, and curious people were waiting outside. The royal visitors were quickly ushered in the car by the guards and security details, and on their way home.

They were silent for a while, thinking on their afternoon, and especially about what Liam had said. It had broken all their hearts. Especially Rama's. He looked outside the window, as the Los Angeles buildings passed by.

"So," Eliza said, trying to break the silence and lighten the mood. "What did you guys think?"

"It was a really great afternoon," Raphael said. "Those kids were just the cherry on the cake."

"You mean the chocolate on the cake?" Latreall asked with a smirk.

"Why does everyone connect me to chocolate?" he said, rolling his eyes, but enjoying it immensely.

"Uh, because you _are_ chocolate," Caspian said. "You always have some with you."

Eliza laughed. "And what was that with your little bows and arrows, Rama?" she asked. "You seemed to be very handy in making them."

Rama let out a dry chuckle and tried to get into the conversation again. "Yeah, well I've been making those for a couple weeks. For lack of real ones."

Eliza raised a curious eyebrow. "Why didn't you ask? We have archery stuff. It's just buried away somewhere. My mom used to do a lot when she was younger. But then, when Millie and I came, she didn't have time to practice." She paused. "I can try and find them, if you like."

A smile appeared on his lips. "I'd like that. And Caspian, too, I think."

"Yeah, I practice a lot, back home," the French prince replied

"Then it's settled," she said. "I'll try to find them. Or I'll ask someone to find them. Either way, you'll get your hands on them soon enough."

 **-x-x-x-**

After dinner, as Eliza was heading out of the dining room, her grandmother came up behind her and put a hand on her arm.

"Walk with me?" she asked.

"Sure," Eliza replied, happy to spend some time with the Queen Mother. They headed outside, in the gardens. The sun was slowly going down behind the line of trees, but there was still enough light to go out without stumbling in the dark. Even though there was lighting in the gardens. But still.

"How was the hospital?" Andromeda asked.

"Great!" Eliza said. "I was afraid it would be awkward, you know? But the guys just were in their element!"

"I'm glad to hear that, and I can't wait to see the pictures."

"You're probably going to read articles about it. There were lots of journalists."

"Inside?"

"No. But I'm sure some went in afterward and questioned the doctors and nurses. Who were a bit distant and cold, now that I think of it." She sighed. "They'll probably say I did that only for the attention. I'm getting used to the negativity, anyway."

Andromeda squeezed her granddaughter's hand. "I'm afraid we all have to deal with it, at some point."

Eliza chuckled. "I'm sure you never had to. You were loved from the start."

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "You think so?" she chuckled. "Even if your grandfather loved me and chose me out of thirty-five girls, I wasn't the public's favorite.

"What? How is that possible?"

"There was a famous singer at the same time as me, in the Prince's Selection. She was adored by everyone, even from some of the other Selected." She paused. "She would have been your grandfather's second choice if I refused his proposal."

"Which of course, you didn't. Did he ever doubt that?"

"I don't think he did, but he still needed a plan B in case anything happened. Rebels were popular back then, you know, and attacks on the Palace were recurrent. Just during our Selection, there were three attacks."

"Oh, my God. I never knew that? What happened?"

"When your grandfather became king, he decided to face them head-on. He wanted to launch a full attack on them, but he didn't know where their headquarters were. So we lured them somewhere to discuss, at my suggestion. We were able to find common ground and an agreement."

"What were they unhappy about?" Eliza asked. "They wanted to abolish the monarchy?"

"No. They wanted the end of the Caste System."

Eliza frowned. "Which you didn't end."

"No. Instead of that, we gave them something else: a place at the king's table of advisors. Once the new fourteen advisors were trained in politics and other things required to be advisors, my husband got rid of all the old ones – his father's advisors – and there was one man and one woman from each caste, from Two to Eight. The Rebels rolled with it, and never caused any trouble again."

"And that was your idea?"

"Yes. That's what made the people of Illéa love me."

By that time, Andromeda and Eliza had walked to the edge of the small lake. "The people don't like me."

"Yet, maybe," Andromeda said. "But in time, they will understand that you are the best Queen they can dream of. A Queen who puts children in the first place in her heart is a Queen who looks to the present _and_ the future. You're working to make the world a better place."

"Thanks," Eliza said, not completely sure. She thought for a moment. "Do you think Millie has enough allies to take me down?"

"I don't know, darling. But you have a whole backup of Princes and governments behind you. They wouldn't have sent their sons and representative if they didn't believe in you."

"What about the nine kingdoms and countries who didn't send someone?" she asked.

"Well, either they didn't have a young man who would have been free to court you, or they didn't have anyone of age. The only negative responses we had from unwilling countries were the Republic of Congo and the Arabian kingdom. They didn't want their men mingling with a white girl." She chuckled. "And they have other issues to take care of in their own countries."

Eliza nodded. They were silent for a while, watching the moon rise in the sky. "Do you think I'm going to make a good Queen?"

"Of course, you will, dear. A magnificent Queen."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Lieutenant Raphael, Room 202, Angeles Palace._**

 _July 17th_

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Today was a good day. We went to the Angeles Kids Hospital to visit the kids, and we actually spent four hours, there. It was amazing to see Eliza open up and bloom like a flower in the middle of all those kids. Like she should have been a second-grade teacher or something. I'm sure she would have done that, in another life…_

 _I also got to know Rama better, and he's a really nice guy. He was kind of always in the background, and all, but I think this visit helped him open up a bit more. And Caspian and Latreall are clearly fun dudes to be around. I need to ask Lat to show me how he does his marble tracks. I heard him and Eliza talk when we got out of the car, and he said he wanted to do a huge track. And guess what Eliza said? "Sure, use the ballroom if you like!" I couldn't have imagined Lat happier than this when she said that. He said he was going to get to work tomorrow. I'll make sure to go check it out._

 _Oh, and I'm almost out of chocolate. That hospital visit practically emptied my stock. Note to self: send a letter to mom – or Tim – to send me a package of chocolate. Now that I know which one Eliza loves most, I'm keeping that one for her._

Raphael checked the time on his Swiss watch – custom-made and a gift from his family when he turned eighteen – and yawned.

 _Anyway. It's late. I'm gonna go to bed._

 _Oh, and you know what I miss most, out here? Beside the Alps… Flying. I wish I could just go out for a tour. Or even take Eliza on the plane with me. Maybe I can see if I can borrow one of the fighter jets from the Illéan army. Do you think they'll let me? Nah. Probably not._

With that, he closed his journal, put the cap on his fountain pen, and put both items in the drawer in his nightstand. If anyone ever found out he wrote in his journal and read his entries, he'd be screwed. Especially when he wrote how beautiful Eliza was. He even tried to draw her, the other day. But it didn't turn out as good as he had hoped, so he glued a picture of her on it, instead.

He stripped down to his boxers and slipped under the covers. The last thing that was in his mind before he fell asleep was a woman with red hair and bottle green eyes, with the sweetest smile on her lips.

He fell asleep smiling.

* * *

 _ **Hellooooo! oooof, it took me much more time than anticipated to write this chapter... maybe because of the Illéan Weekly Magazine?** *cough cough* **.**_

 _ **Speaking of which, I've sent out interview questions to everyone** (either on Discord or through PM) **and some of you have already replied** (THANK YOU!) **and sent pictures. I'm waiting on the others ;)** (but feel free to tell me you don't have the time to do it, and I'll try to answer them myself, with the risk that it's not what you would have wanted your OC to say...) _

_**But the Magazine is taking shape on my InDesign app, and it's gonna be really cool! there are 55 pages programmed, but if you have any ideas that would be cool in the Illéan Weekly Magazine, I'm definitely opened to suggestions to complete the Magazine! ;D**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it! see you soon!**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 ** _Prince Haruhito, New Asia. Men's Parlor, Thursday morning._**

Like every morning during Henri's _lessons_ and whatnot, the New Asian prince wasn't really listening. He should have, because his mother had emphasized on that point to do what he was told and to take initiatives, but for the moment, he couldn't really be bothered with that. Especially since Kwasi had come up with the roads and traffic subject – again – in Illéa, and more precisely on the West Coast. _Bo-ring_.

So, like every time, he opened up his laptop and pretended to take notes. But truth be told, he was either writing _Tales Untold,_ under the penname Adriel W. L'Alfayage, or writing stuff about the Selection and the Selected – Jinhai had already caught him red-handed once – and he tuned everyone out. Adern was sleeping on his lap, keeping him warm and putting orange cat hair everywhere. But he didn't mind.

Haruhito only looked up when there was a knock on the door.

 _Probably Eliza coming in to select her date_ , he thought, annoyed. But he still politely closed his laptop, making sure to save his work, and listened. She was taking out a name from the black box.

"Haruhito," she read out loud.

His heart froze, his hands became clammy, and Adern stirred in his lap, wondering what was happening to his Human.

"Uh… yeah, sure," he finally stammered. "Afternoon date." And he remembered what his mother had told him: _take the initiative._ "And I'll organize something."

"Excellent," she said with a bright smile. "I'll see you later, then." She walked out of the room and Haruhito felt at lost. The only experience he had with love or dates was always set in a high fantasy setting.

Without any other word, he tuned out everyone, opened up his laptop again, and connected into his chat server, where several of his internet friends – who didn't know he was actually Prince Haruhito of Mikasa – were online. _Thank goodness_ , he thought _. I could use some help, here_.

-.-

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : Hi guys. Long story short, I need a first date idea in an urban, real-life setting with royalty. Don't ask why.

 **Seven Green** : I dunno much about New Asian royal culture. If you want to ask a girl out, just, idk, do something you both like?

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : it's set in Illéa, and since when do you think I'm royalty lol

 **Milly Bear, from Illéa** : Plot twist. Addie is, and he's in the Selection lol.

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage:** Yes, of course, my name's Haruhito and I brought my cat. *rolling eyes emoji*

 **Milly Bear** : lol

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : Now, any realistic ideas?

 **Queen Kay, from New England** : What do they like?

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : The guy likes cats, books, sleeping, JRPG, and walking around.

 **Seven Green** : So you. When did you move to Illéa?

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : I don't know about her, though. She has a horse, apparently, and she likes being normal. You know, a bit of your average YA protagonist who prefers normal life over fancy royal life and wealth.

 **Milly Bear** : Mood. Don't you and your sister cook a lot? Maybe you could do that?

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : OOH. THAT'S GOOD.

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : Idk if she likes cooking, though.

 **Seven Green** : I CALLED IT. YOU'RE DATING HER.

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : Yeah, I'm a New Asian prince, but write books in English. Totally. Also, my sister thinks my dad plans to take over the world.

 **Queen Kay** : You could ask, though. Otherwise, idk. Walk around and have time to talk a bit.

 **Milly Bear** : or an MK8 tournament. Do you have something to play around?

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : Maybe I have to check

 **Seven Green** : He admitted it.

 **Adriel W. L'Alfayage** : if that were the case, Seven, then I'll go and order your execution to keep your silence.

-.-

Haruhito went offline because that didn't help. Cooking, horse-riding and video games had already been done.

He closed his laptop and Adern simply sat on it, demanding to be pet. Which Haruhito obliged, and then it hit him. _Of course. Why didn't I think if this sooner?_ He thought. He carried Adern off his computer and set him on his shoulders so he could use his computer again. He made some research and found his date idea.

By the end of the morning, he had the whole thing planned out.

"So," Jinhai said, coming over at the end of their morning. "What are you planning for the Princess?"

"Uh… Spoiler?"

Jinhai chuckled. "You always say that. That's cute." He grinned and invited Haruhito to walk with him to the dining room for lunch. The New Asian prince's face heated up, and he accepted the invitation. They walked in a comfortable silence and chose seats next to each. Thankfully, the place cards had been discarded long ago, now that the boys knew each other. There were designated seats only for the evening meal.

-x-x-x-

 ** _After lunch, Entrance Hall._**

"Ah, there you are," Eliza said, walking into the hall, and seeing Haruhito sitting on a settee on the side, Adern on his lap. "Master Adern is coming too?" she asked, coming over and scratching the cat's head. "Hi kitty, you're coming too, huh?"

"Yeah, he's coming, if you don't mind?"

"Oh, no, not at all! The more the merrier," she said grinning.

"Good. Here, you should wear this over your outfit," he said, handing her one of his own t-shirts.

She held it out in front of her, reading the words written white on black. " _Cat hair is the new black_ , huh?" she chuckled and put it over her head while Haruhito pulled on another t-shirt over his head and over his own long-sleeve shirt. She read his t-shirt. " _I am here to pet all of the cats…_ Oh my God, are we going to an animal shelter?"

A grin appeared on Haruhito's face. "Something like that. You'll see. It's a Spoiler." They walked to the garage where a car was waiting for them, and they climbed in. Adern spent the whole drive on Haruhito's lap, and Eliza gave up on trying to have the ginger animal on her lap.

"He likes you too much," she said, defeated.

"Maybe," he said. "But don't worry, he still likes you."

She smiled. "How long have you had him?"

"I found him as a stray kitten when I was in middle school, and he's stayed with me ever since."

"Wow. I never had a pet."

"That's sad."

"Yeah," she said with a chuckle. "But I guess I wouldn't really have time for it, and with College, I wouldn't have had time for it, either. I would've had to find a pet sitter, at some point."

Haruhito laughed. "I never needed a pet sitter." The care slowed. "Here we are," he said.

Eliza looked out, and she read the logo on the front of the building and laughed. "A cat shelter?" she said. "That's such a great idea!"

Haruhito sighed, relieved. She had already been to the zoo the same week. Maybe she was just being nice and polite. They climbed out of the car and besides Ruby and Lukas – and that clingy body guard of hers – they were alone, and the director of the shelter welcomed them warmly.

"Your Royal Highnesses," the lady said. "I'm so honored to have you here."

"Thank you," Eliza said. "This is Prince Haruhito and-"

"We exchanged e-mails," Haruhito said, cutting in with an explanation.

"Oh. Great, then."

"Shall we go in?" the cat lady asked, and the royals nodded. The shelter was a red brick building with windows, but there was no sign of cats. Yet.

"Don't you have outside playgrounds for the cats?" Haruhito asked, confused. There was no garden. Were they all cooped up inside?

"Oh, we do have that, it's on the other side of the house, actually. Should we go there, first?"

Haruhito nodded, carrying Adern in his arms.

"And this is your cat, I suppose?" the cat lady asked, petting Adern's head.

"Yes. He wanted to come along."

"Great. I'm sure he'll make lots of new friends, today," she said, smiling.

They walked in and headed directly to the back door. Eliza noticed some of cats inside, but was stunned to see at least forty – if not more – cats lounging in wooden cabins, in the shade. There were so many different breeds, and colors, and sizes, and ages, and health issues – some were missing a leg or two, or even an eye, or their tail had been cut – and Eliza just sat down on a cat-hair-covered blanket. The cat lady gave her some cat food to give to the cats, and in a matter of minutes, all the cats came to the food. Eliza was soon covered in cats and laughing.

"How many cats to you have?" she asked.

"One hundred and fifty-seven."

"Oh, wow," Eliza said. "And how does the shelter get along?"

"Mainly with donations," the woman said.

Haruhito also sat on the ground among the cats, and Adern sat on his shoulders, not wanting to mingle with all these new cats. _Who were they to just swarm up like that? So impolite and immature_. _He is my Human. Don't even think about it_. He hissed at some of the cats on Haruhito's lap.

"Someone's jealous?" Eliza said, teasing Adern. "Don't worry, he won't exchange you."

Adern settled on Haruhito's shoulders and looked at everything from up there.

Haruhito laughed. "Don't worry about him. He needs to learn to socialize a little…" he trailed off, realizing that Adern was exactly like him among new people. So he changed the subject. "Who's that one?" he asked the cat lady, pointing to a lean, elegant, grey cat with large pointy ears and green eyes.

"That's Mrs. Pebbles," the woman said. "She's been with us for a few months, but she never fit in. She always comes to the food after everyone, sleeps alone, and mainly keeps to herself."

"Aw," Eliza said. "Why? Where does she come from?"

"My daughter found her famished and sick on the side of the road, one day. We don't know how long she had been out there alone. But she didn't seem to know how to hunt. I'd say she's a house cat. And from a rich house. We've put posters and announcements on the Internet, no one claimed her. I'm assuming her owner was a rich old lady who died."

"That's awful!" Eliza said. "The poor thing!"

"Who?" Haruhito asked slyly. "The cat or the dead woman?"

Eliza chuckled. "Both, I guess?"

The prince and the cat lady joined in, laughing. A moment later, the grey cat slowly approached the princess, hesitantly at first, but then she decided the red hair Human was nice and she came closer, even rubbing her side against the Human's leg.

"I've never seen her doing that with anyone," the lady said. "Not even with me or my daughters who come here often."

"Looks like the cat chose you," Haruhito said, smiling.

"Aw, hello Mrs. Pebbles," Eliza said, gently rubbing the grey cat's head. "You're one pretty cat." The other cats made way for the newcomer, as if she was their Queen. Mrs. Pebbles climbed on Eliza's lap and started purring the moment Eliza pet her.

"I'll be damned," the lady said. "It's the first time she's done something like that."

"Since he's from a rich home, she probably sensed your royal blood, Eliza," Haruhito said.

Eliza chuckled and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Might be," the lady said. "Cats are very intelligent."

"I've always considered Adern the Supreme Leader of the Universe, you know?"

Eliza froze. "What did you just say?"

"Uh… that Adern should be ruling the world?"

"No. You said _Supreme Leader_."

"So?"

She chuckled. Linus had freaked out hearing him and Jinhai talking about a supreme leader during the Ball, when they had just been talking about Adern. She burst out laughing, but Mrs. Pebbles didn't budge from her spot, claiming that Human girl to be her Human, now.

"What's so funny?" the New Asian prince asked.

She waved the question away. "I'll explain later. In the car."

Haruhito let the matter drop. They spent the rest of the afternoon feeding the cats, playing with the cats, brushing the cats, feeding them again, and playing some more. But Mrs. Pebbles never left Eliza's side. She even thought to take a couple selfies with Haruhito and the cats, for her collection.

By the time it was time to go home, Eliza had grown found on the grey cat, and had made a decision for herself. Her allergic mother be damned. She wasn't even supporting her, anyway.

"I'd like to take Mrs. Pebbles home," she said to the cat lady. "Does the paperwork take lots of time?"

"That's an excellent idea, Your Highness. I'm so glad Mrs. Pebbles will have a new home. The paperwork won't take long. And her vet visits are all done. She had her last checkup last week."

"Excellent."

So Eliza signed the papers, and Mrs. Pebbles was hers.

As soon as they arrived at the Palace, Eliza and Haruhito went in search for the other boys. No one was in the Men's Parlor – of course not, with a sunny and beautiful day like that one – but most of them were outside, either in or around the swimming pool, or playing soccer.

"Guys! Look what I have," Eliza said, coming close to the pool were a group of guys were already huddled around her and her new cat. "Meet Mrs. Pebbles Schreave."

"By the looks of it, you were at an animal shelter," Adrien said.

"Good job, genius," Sebastian said, ruffling the youngest prince's hair. "How could you tell?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Cat t-shirts, cat hair, new cat. Duh."

Everyone laughed, and everyone wanted to pet the new cat.

"So I'm a member of the Selection zoo, now," Eliza said, laughing, and the boys laughed, too.

"Welcome to the club," Rafe said.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Friday, day off for everyone._**

Although everyone in the Selection had a free day and could sleep in, a handful went for an early morning run, an early morning swim, or an early morning walk. Or a very late morning wake-up, because hangovers. But Eliza didn't know that.

She had an early morning run-in with Adrien, who was the only one at the breakfast buffet at the same time as Eliza.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"Uhm," he said. "I think most of them are sleeping off some, uh… headache."

Eliza rolled his eyes. "Are you telling me everyone is hungover?"

"Yeah?" he said. "But you didn't hear it from me."

She chuckled and sat next to him at the Selected table, since there was no one there, anyway. During the next half hour, a handful of them – Raphael, Kwasi, Cian and CJ – trickled in one after the other. They didn't seem to be that hungover. Maybe they hadn't drunk as much as some others.

"And what did you do?" Eliza asked. "I promise I won't tell."

Raphael sat down near them and Adrien chuckled. "Partying. In one of the rooms. We, uh, drank, and-"

"And they tried to see who would fall asleep first," Raphael said, shaking his head. Clearly, he didn't condone this.

"You don't like partying?" Eliza asked.

"I don't see the point I getting drunk just for fun. There's no fun in being drunk and hangover. That's all."

"M-hm," Eliza said. "Well next time you do something like that, let me know. I miss my old college parties," she said, lowering her voice. "I'll just drink sodas."

The boys laughed.

Eliza checked her watch and excused herself, since she didn't have a free day. Her first appointment was a weekly meeting with her father and the advisors. She tried to really focus on the points discussed, but it was hard. She was glad when it was finally over.

After lunch, she went back to her room to see Mrs. Pebbles. She was hoping her mother wouldn't notice another animal in the Palace, and if she kept her to her room, it would be fine. She made herself comfortable on the couch with a book and Mrs. Pebbles on her lap when she heard Sam's usual knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Samantha came in and gave an envelope to the Princess. "This came for you, Miss."

Eliza took the heavy paper envelope, where her name was written in beautiful cursive, and sealed with a bronze wax seal. Was that the Irish seal? She popped it open and took out the note.

 _This is rather unconventional, but could you meet me in the center of the garden?_

Eliza chuckled.

"What is it?" Samantha asked.

"I think it's another date," she replied.

"But I thought you gave them all a day off?"

"I did, but apparently someone really wants to go on a date with the Princess." She chuckled. "What do you think, Mrs. Pebbles. Do you think I should go?"

Eliza only had a _moew_ as an answer.

"You're right. I should. It would be impolite not to go." That said, she stood, quickly brushed her hair, slipped on some flats and headed outside. In the center of the garden, just as mentioned in the note, Prince Cian – she had been right about the Irish seal – was sitting on a bench, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

Eliza smiled as she approached.

"You came," he said, standing.

"Yes, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe you wanted a day off, too? But I took my chances."

"And it's a good thing you did."

He handed her the bouquet, yellow daffodils. "If I remember correctly, these mean new beginnings. It seemed appropriate."

"Thank you," she said, taking the flowers from him. "They're beautiful!"

He grinned. "I have to admit that when I planned this date, I originally planned to leave you a bunch of riddle clues until you found me." He paused. "Then I thought it would be more enjoyable to reach my planned date location solving the riddles together."

"That's a very sweet idea," she said. "I think this is going to a nice change to do something around here."

"Here's the first clue," he said, giving her an envelope similar to the first one. She popped the seal open and read the note.

 _Finding the first clue would be a treat! Look for it where you could get something to eat._

"Somewhere to eat? Oh! The dining room!"

Cian chuckled. "Let's try that."

They headed to the dining room, chatting.

"Did you write these notes? Because if you did, your handwriting is amazing.

He laughed. "I did. Thanks! But that's my handwriting only when I'm focusing on it. If I'm just taking random notes or quickly writing something down, it's ugly."

Eliza laughed. "Well, mine used to be pretty, before I went to College. Then that ruined my handwriting. When you have to write fast for an exam or for taking notes…"

"You didn't type your notes?"

"I ended up doing this, after a year, because I had a tendonitis in my right hand. I couldn't write anymore, so I forced myself to use my computer. I typed too slowly at first I had only half the lectures in my notes."

Cian laughed and they walked into the dining room, with was completely empty, save for the dinner setting. But nothing out of the ordinary.

"Okay, the first clue isn't here," he finally said after she had looked around.

Eliza thought. "Oh. I'm silly. The kitchens, of course!"

Cian chuckled. "Let's go see there!"

So the couple headed down to the kitchens.

"How long have you been preparing this date?" she asked.

"A few days. But since you gave us the day off, I thought it would be nice to do something just for you. Like a surprise."

"It's very thoughtful," Eliza said as they stepped into the kitchen. The cooks and staff were working on the evening meal, but at the end of the center table, there were two plates with a strawberry cheesecake waiting to be eaten. There was a small vase with a few daffodils in it.

"Aw, this is so sweet!" Eliza said. They sat at the table, and Cian cut two slices of the cake, one for each of them. They ate and chatted some more.

"Hey," she said. "I just remembered something. Don't you have like seven brothers and sisters?"

Cian laughed. "Almost. I'm the sixth child, so only five brothers and sisters."

"Wow. Are you close to them?"

"It depends what you call _close_. I'm three years younger than the closest sibling in age, but other than that…" he trailed off. "We weren't really the perfect family type. My mother is queen, and my oldest brother, the Crown Prince, is just a jerk. He's arrogant and thinks everything is his. So no, I'm really not close to him. The closest I am to is probably my sister just before me. She's 28 years old, a quiet girl, but she's the one I can talk to the most easily."

"At least you don't have an evil sister."

Cian chuckled. "Does an evil brother count? Because Marcas, the oldest, could fall into that category."

"Well, join the club, then," she said.

He noticed they were both done with their piece of cake. "Would you like another one?" he asked, holding the knife above the cake.

"You know what? Yes. I'd love to."

Cian chuckled and cut two more pieces of the cake.

"So, what's the next clue?" she said. "Might as well try to figure it out while finishing this cake."

"You have to look for an envelope," he said mysteriously.

"Huh. Okay." She looked around them, but didn't find any. Then she lifted her plate, and there was another sealed envelope. "A-ha! Found it." She grinned and popped the seal open, again. The note said:

 _The next place you need to look, is the place you can find a book._

"That's easy," she said. "Probably the library."

They quickly finished their cake and were on their way to the library.

"So, most of the guys here have pets. Do you have one?" she asked.

"No. Never had one. But if I could choose one, I'd have a dog."

"What kind?"

"I don't know. But not those tiny chihuahuas. They're creepy. More like a golden retriever, or a Labrador. Something that size."

"Yeah, if I had a dog I'd have a golden retriever."

"But you chose a cat."

"The cat chose me, actually," she said, laughing.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. Cats were not his favorite animals. At all. By that time, they had stepped into the library. Eliza saw the next clue immediately. There was a small bouquet of daffodils on a shelf, and an envelope leaning against it. She opened it and read the note, still written in beautiful cursive.

 _Thirty men and only two women, but they hold the most power._

 _Dressed in black in white, they could fight for hours._

"That looks like the Selection," she said. "But definitely chess."

They headed to the Game room.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Sure."

"How are you not so mad at your parents?"

"What for?" she asked, surprised at the question.

"They gave you what you wanted – a College education – and then took that away from you the moment you got back. That must have been so frustrating."

Eliza sighed. "It was. And I was really angry. But I knew what I had signed for when they let me go to College. I made a deal with them."

"What kind of deal?" he asked, curious. Because he, too, had made a deal with his parents.

"I'd get to go to College, get a Master's degree – and I worked hard enough to get three – and when I came back, I would have do to what he told me. I was expecting a Selection, like every Heir before me. But not like this. I was more angry at him for this unconventional Selection than for 'taking away' what I loved, like you said."

"Hm," he said. "I guess we're not only in the same _evil-sibling-club_ , but also in the same _I-made-a-deal-with-my-parents-club_."

She chuckled. "What kind of deal did you make?"

"Do the selection, make some alliances for the UK of Ireland, and then I can go to College with their blessing."

"Huh. So a bit similar to mine."

"Yeah."

"How are those alliances coming up?"

He chuckled. "Not sure. But I hope I can at least secure something with you. Illéa."

"I'm sure we can figure something out," she said. "What do you want to go for, in College?"

"Promise you won't tell?"

"I promise," she said solemnly.

"I want to be a forensic scientist."

"That's awesome! Go for it!"

"Thanks. I hope I will be able to do that. At some point. Unless you make me your Consort, but I don't think that's going to happen."

"Why not?" she asked, curious. "Oh, of course, College."

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "Shall we?" he said, motioning to the game room door.

She nodded and the y walked in. In the middle of the room – which was filled with games of all sorts on the walls, tables, and floor – was a small table with a chess board, with all the pieces already set out for a game.

They sat on chairs across from each other to play a round of chess, but Eliza noticed a small box with a daffodil laying on top.

"What's this? The last clue?"

"Nope, this is the last piece of the treasure hunt," he said. "Open it."

Eliza opened the velvet box and in it were a simple diamond necklace with matching diamond studs. "Oh, my," she said. "They're beautiful." She looked up at a grinning Cian. "Thank you so much." She took off the pearl studs she was wearing and put the new ones instead, with the matching necklace.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like them." He paused. "I figured a simpler and quieter date would be a nice change after being so much in the spotlight."

"Yeah, it is," she said. She smiled at the Irish prince, who had always seemed a bit cold and blunt to her, but he was actually very charming and kind. It was a very nice surprise, to be honest. They played a round of chess – he won, because Eliza wasn't a good chess player – and they chatted for the rest of the afternoon, tucked away from cameras and other prying eyes. She even forgot to take a selfie with him…

* * *

 _ **Hellooo. so yeah, sorry it was long, and not drama-filled** (it'll come soon, don't worry) **, but you got two dates and got to know two of the suitors a bit better. And Yay! Eliza has a cat, now! ;D** (see the Aesthetic board for the dates aesthetics!) **. Thanks to**_ Millyna _ **and**_ ChillyIce _ **for the date ideas ;)**_

 _ **The Illéan Weekly magazine is coming up pretty well, I can't wait to show you guys! :D I'm still waiting for 4 interviews** (which is amazing, thanks for your very quick replies!) **and if you can get it in by Sunday** (your time, because idk where you are in the world... haha) **that would be great! I also still need to work on my editorial, contents pages, and some random other interviews... but I hope to show it to you during the coming week! :D**_

 _ **Oh and that Party Adrien mentioned? it's in the latest Companion One-shot, in Latreall's POV! go read it, it's really fun!**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and chatting with me on the Discord Chat! if you want to join, go to**_ Millyna _ **'s profile for the link ;)**_

 _ **PS: you've got to check out**_ SeineiGrace _ **'s story " A Sweet Secret". It's also a Male selection, and she really needs a few more guys! ;) go submit a guy if you haven't already! ;) And thanks to those who already submitted one! **_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 ** _Ruby Wright, Report stage, Friday evening._**

"Good evening, Illéa!" Ruby chanted, coming in the center of the Report stage. "I hope you're all doing well because I am! I can't wait to show you everything that's been going on this week!" she grinned. "But before we start, King Oliver has a few words for us."

She stepped aside and let the king come over to take her place in the center. Ruby tuned him out a little, concentrating on her lines and the program for afterward. She really needed to get her wits together and not make a fool of herself or of Princess Eliza. She had done the two extremes – making a fool of the Princess and painting an untrue but beautiful image of her – so now she wanted to go for the truth, like Eliza wanted.

The king went on about financial stuff, things that the people of Illéa had been whining about for a few months. He told them he was taking care of everything and that their needs would be met. And no, not all their tax money went into the Selection, because that was on another budget.

Ruby snorted inside. Hosting twenty-three royals must cost a lot of money. And she understood why the people were angry about it. She had even worked with some magazines and blogs to put out the polls, but very little people had voted. They didn't care for these selected like they would – or should – if it was them, here. She needed to find something to fix that. But right now, she had no idea, and the king was finished talking.

Oliver walked away and Ruby took her place on the stage, the only place she had ever felt belonging to.

"All right!" she said, keeping up the bubbly act. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Now, what you are all waiting for, the week's recap!" On the screen behind her, some pictures of Eliza's date with Sebastian at the zoo showed up, with lots of selfies with animals, and other fun pictures. Next came the hospital visit, with Latreall's marble tracks, Eliza reading a book to some kids, and the other boys shooting nerf gun bullets with makeshift bows or playing with little Star Wars figurines. And Ruby thought of Liam, and her bubbly smile faltered a little. After that, pictures of Haruhito and Eliza at the cat shelter, both covered in cats, with Eliza's new cat, Mrs. Pebbles. Cian's date wasn't mentioned, because it was one of the few ones that Ruby didn't follow and where Eliza was left alone.

"My, my, my," Ruby said. "That was one busy week!" She turned around and made a show of counting the boys sitting in a two-row semi-circle around the stage, with Eliza in the middle, with eleven boys on each side of her. "Wait a minute," she said. "Why are there only twenty-two guys here? Is one sick?"

Eliza shook her head. She knew Ruby was going to go down that line. "No, no one is sick, Ruby. One of them had to go home, last weekend."

"Oh, no! But why? Did something go wrong? And who is it?"

"Archduke Spencer Chapman, from New Australia," Eliza said. "And trust me, it was _not_ my decision."

"What happened?" Ruby asked. She knew, but she had to play her part, for the show.

"My sister found it funny to start digging and finding things on my Selected, even though security and background checks had been done before. She made sure we all knew what she had found on Spencer. My father and his advisors – I couldn't vote – deemed it necessary that he go back home." She paused. "It was against my wishes, but what can I do, right?"

"Your Highness, I am so sorry," Ruby said. "Let's hope no one is hiding anything. We don't want to see them going home, already!"

Eliza smiled. "I don't want either."

"Let's get to something more enjoyable, shall we?" She walked around the semi-circle of guys and stopped in front of one of the boys. "Prince Adrien," she said. "You're the youngest of this Selection, right?"

"Yeah," he said.

"How does it feel to be surrounded by all these older gentlemen? I hope they're not making life too hard for you…?"

"Oh, no! not at all!" he said. "It's like having a bunch of older brothers. I'm not really that close to my two brothers, back home, but here? It's pretty awesome!"

Ruby laughed. "I hope they're nice _brothers_ , then."

Adrien nodded and he looked at Sebastian, who chuckled. _These two must be getting along well_ , she thought, and she walked up to Sebastian. "You became Adrian's big brother, Sebastian?"

"Yes," he said, chuckling. "I never had a little brother, although I am very close to my older brother. So it's fun to be in the _big brother_ role for a while."

"Aw, that's so sweet." She walked to Kwasi. "What about you, Your Highness? Also found some friends? Or is the competition high, for you?"

"Can I speak honestly, Ruby?" he asked.

"Of course, please do!" _But careful what you say, this is Live._

"I don't feel the competition, yet. Maybe when there will be less of us. But for now, it's more a big summer vacation."

Ruby chuckled. "I gather you haven't had a date yet?"

"No. Not yet."

"When you get your date, what are you going to prepare for the Princess? Or maybe you'd rather she organized it?"

"Oh, no. I'll do something." He looked at Eliza and smirked. "But I'd prefer to keep it secret. It's going to be a surprise."

"Oh, I like surprises!" Ruby said. "Can you just tell me? In my ear?"

Kwasi raised an eyebrow. "No, if this gets out, it's on you."

"Oh, okay." Ruby kept on her smile and continued her interrogation of the guys. When she was done, she invited Princess Millie to come to join her on the stage.

Millie was surprised, this wasn't in the program, and Ruby knew it. It was on her cards, she just hadn't had shared that little piece of information with the second princess… but she came nonetheless.

"Your Highness," Ruby said, plastering a smile on her face. She really didn't like that woman, anymore. "These pictures have been taken, last Saturday," she said, showing pictures of Alaric's proposal on the screen, with him on one knee and Millie standing. _Aww_ 's came from the audience.

 _One of the Selected must have taken them_ , Millie thought, bitter.

"I understand your boyfriend, Duke Alaric of Rockefeller proposed to you," Ruby said. "And that was one hell of a proposal. But you refused. Why?"

"Ruby," Millie said trying to find her words. "It just wasn't the right time. I thought it was too soon. And I had lots of things to take care of, with the schools, and everything…" she trailed off. "I didn't want to do this during my sister's Selection.)

"The diamond wasn't big enough?" Ruby asked. "Or did you want a bigger proposal?"

Millie kept her sad _fake_ smile on her face and sent daggers to Ruby.

"You want to know the truth, Ruby?" she said coldly, still with a smile.

"Yes, I'd like that very much, Your Highness."

"A Queen does not need a husband."

Ruby burst out laughing. "Last time I checked, _Your Highness_ , you were still a Princess."

"Last time I checked," Millie said, "You still had a job."

"There's nothing you can do about my job, Millie," Ruby hissed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Eliza said, walking up on the stage, her head high. "Meet the new Princess Emilia, my sister. Good night and we'll see you next week!"

The stage technician turned off the cameras and sent the credits to finish the Report. He closed the curtains before any of the Live Audience – Two, palace staff, close friends of the Schreave family – could see what would happen next. Someone made them all leave the Report room as quickly as possible, serving drinks in the room next door.

"What the hell?" Eliza said, turning to Millie. "This was Live."

"Yeah, I know," she said shrugging, happy with herself. "Let them ponder on that for a few days." She chuckled and walked away.

"A disaster, as always," Eliza said, more to herself than for Ruby.

"I'm so sorry," Ruby said, crushed and hurt. "I shouldn't have made her come and asked her those questions."

"It's not your fault," Eliza said. "You wanted to expose her, it was a good idea. But we'll have to think of something else."

Ruby looked at Eliza. "How are you always so nice? How are you not angry at her?"

Eliza chuckled. "I know, right?" she sighed and fiddled with her ring. "I need to figure her out, you know? I've completely lost touch with her. And I do understand her. She was here all along, and I wasn't. I leave and I come back and everything is given to me on a silver platter. She's just number two, and she has to work hard for everything."

"But all those awful things she said…?"

"It hurt, yes," Eliza said, being honest with Ruby, thinking of the time Millie said she was as bad as their father. "But she's still my sister." She pressed the palms of her hands on her eyes and sighed. "I have to go. But thanks for everything you do, Ruby." She offered her a quick smile and left to join the boys who were huddled in small groups and talking animatedly.

Ruby wanted to know what they were talking about when her phone rang. She took it out and answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Ruby Wright?"

"This is she…?"

"Excellent, hi!" the female voice said on the other side of the line. "Listen, uh, I just saw the Report and I wanted to know if I could come over with my crew to do some interviews and some photoshoot of the Selected?"

"Uhm, who's this?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry. I'm Jade Reese, Editor of the Illéa Weekly, and we'd like to make a Special Edition with the focus on the Royals and the Selection before more guys get eliminated. We thought we had more time, but apparently not."

"Oh, uh… I'll need to have a word with their Majesties, and I'm sure there will be restrictions and guidelines they'll want you to follow. What exactly do you want to publish?" Ruby asked.

"Exclusive interviews with the Selected and the Royal family, insiders of the whole Selection and, yeah, mainly focusing on them."

"It'll have to be positive," Ruby said. "There were already so many negative stuff that got out and-"

"Of course, only positive stuff. Look, I'm a big fan of Princess Eliza, so I'm not going to get anything negative in my Magazine. I promise." She paused. "Unless it's on number Two, if you know what I mean," she said in a low voice.

And with that, Ruby decided that this woman was a genius. And thus, she wanted to be her friend, and make sure she could come to make her Special Edition for the Illéan Weekly. "I'll have a word with Eliza and the King, and I'll get back to you, okay?"

"That would be great. Thank you so much!"

 **-x-x-x-**

The next day, Saturday, the weather was not summery at all. It was raining buckets, and everyone was stuck inside. Unless they wanted to get wet and play soccer in a muddy field. But for now, everyone was dispatched into the palace: Men's Parlor, their respective rooms, or the Ballroom.

That's where Eliza went first, because she had heard Latreall talk about it at dinner the previous night. He was making a giant marble track, and she wanted to see it. She was not disappointed.

"Oh. My. God," she said coming into the giant room. Several boys were crouched on the ground or standing, working on something eye-level. Latreall was putting some finishing touches on a section of the track; Kwasi was drawing something – making it look more professional, working on his architecture; Adrien was working on another section with Cian and Otávio.

Eliza walked along the track. "Is it finished?"

"Almost," Latreall said. "We just have to figure out this section, but then it's done."

"Oh, the kids at the hospital would so want to see this," she said. She stayed a few more minutes, chatting with them.

"Okay, I think it's done," Latreall said. "Let's try it!" The group walked to the other side of the ballroom, where the starting line was. Latreall was about to put the test marble on the track, but he froze and gave it to Eliza. "You do the honors."

"Oh, uh, thanks," she said, taking the marble between her fingers and placing it on the track. They followed it as it went down the track, took a few turns, went up and down, and bumped stuff that made other marbles go on their own way. There were too many things to see at once, and five marbles all arrived at the same time at the finish line.

"Yes! It worked!" Latreall said, making a little victory dance in the middle of the room, careful not to knock down anything. "I can't believe it worked!" he said. "This is the largest track I've ever done!"

"We should film it and put it on YouTube," Adrien said. "You'd be famous, dude!"

Eliza laughed and left them to their own _dude_ stuff. She headed to the Men's Parlor where a group of guys – the majority of them, actually – was watching TV. Eliza stood behind the couch where they were all huddled, and the news came on.

Sudden images of a warzone appeared, with soldiers – looking closer to robots than actual humans – destroying everything in their way.

 _"Yesterday, in the Mongolian Empire, near the southern border with New Asia, soldiers in a robotic garb invaded the country for no other reason than to test their new suits. Each soldier seemed to be commanded from a safe place somewhere in New Asia, but we were unable to identify where. Lots of casualties were counted on the Mongolian side, but zero on the robot's side. Today, we still don't know how they came to be, and why they suddenly decided to attack, unannounced. This is a big step in the Mongasian War. We will continue to keep you posted as we know more."_

Silence filled the room. No one was expecting such violence. No army had such robots as soldiers, and no one knew where they came from.

But upon closer inspection, Caspian was as pale as a ghost. But why? this had nothing to do with him or his country. If someone was to pale at the news, it was Haruhito or Jinhai, who weren't there, by the way. But Caspian?

"Hey, bro, you okay?" Tomlin asked, seeing his cousin not feeling well.

"I'm fine," he said. He stood. "I need some air." He mumbled something in French and went outside. Actually outside. In the rain. He just stood there, staring at nothing in particular.

"Cas, what's wrong?" Tomlin said, coming out a few minutes later with a large umbrella.

"Nothing," Caspian said. " _Je suis juste trop dans la merde,"_ he mumbled.

" _Pourquoi? Il se passe quoi, mec_?"

Caspian looked at Tomlin, surprised to hear him speak French. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Very slowly. "I-" he stopped short, scratching the back of his head. "I did a huge mistake, that's all."

"That's all?" Tomlin said. He snorted. "What's that have to do with the News?"

Caspian searched his cousin's blue eyes. "If I tell this to you, you have to keep that to yourself."

Tomlin raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sure. What is it?"

"Swear."

Tomlin rolled his eyes. "I swear I won't tell. Unless it's a life or death thing."

Caspian sighed. "Okay… When I moved to the _Château d'Amboise_ , I went there because it was away from the Palace, but also because it was Leonardo da Vinci's old house."

"Yeah, I know that. You already said that once."

"I found some of his stuff. Things that were never published." He sighed, and looked away. "I found sketches for an ironman-style exoskeleton armor, made with Renaissance materials and technology. But I figured that if we tweaked it a little with our own tech, it could be something pretty amazing. I worked on it – secretly – because I didn't want my brother, the king, to get his hands on it yet." He paused.

"And? That's your stuff?"

"Yeah, no. I made a prototype and one day it was gone. Along with my tablet where I kept everything. I'm such an idiot."

"Wait. No backup?"

"I know, right?" Caspian said, becoming more and more agitated. "And I don't even know who took everything. It could be my brother Antoine, or one of the engineers that worked with me, or I don't know. And now it was sold to New Asia, and they've modified it even more and made a war weapon out of it. I never planned for it to be drones. They were just supposed to help people. Paralyzed people could be walking again. But a whole army? Did you see that?"

"Okay, calm down," Tomlin said. "We'll figure something out."

"No we won't. New Asia has its hands on it, and it's all my fault."

"Cas, calm down. It's gonna be okay. No one needs to know you found it and invented it."

"I don't even know in how many hands my prototype went into before getting to New Asia. Whoever took it knows it's mine. I'm screwed."

"No, you're not. Besides, this isn't something to kick you out. You've done nothing against Illéa, and this was an honest mistake. Your stuff got stolen. Not your fault."

"But-"

"Not your fault, okay?" Tomlin sighed. "But maybe you should let Eliza know."

"What?! No way."

"You want her to find out through Millie? Or someone else?"

"But that could get me kicked out!"

Both boys were silent, with only the rain rattling on their umbrella. "Fine, don't tell her. But she'll have to know, at some point. Illéa hasn't chosen a side in the Mongasian War, yet; they need to know what they're up against. If you know anything about those exo-skeleton thingies, you'll need to tell her. She'll know what to do about it."

"Right," Caspian said. "But she doesn't need to know right now."

"No, she doesn't."

"And if Millie or someone else – like whoever stole the prototype – leaks that is was my idea in the first place?"

"Then I guess you're screwed."

"Thanks," Caspian said, sarcastically.

"Uh, everything okay?" Eliza said from the stairs. "What are you doing in the rain?"

"Nothing," Tomlin said. "Just getting some air. Cas didn't feel good. Made sure he was okay."

"Oh. Do you want to go to the infirmary, Caspian?"

"No, no, I'm fine, now. Thanks." He forced out a smile and the cousins walked back inside. When they entered the Men's Parlor again, everyone was talking about the war and the super-suits, the robots, and how it would affect the War. Caspian went back to his room after a moment. He needed to be alone.

* * *

 _ **Helloooo! omg, I'm so excited! the Magazine is ready, and you can see it here! - -**_ www . online . fliphtml5 . com [slash] cuisn /mjnc/?1547567185783 _(without the spaces and replace "slash" by "/"... if it doesn't work, I'll try another way... The link will also be on Discord) **AND... if you can't open it, it's on the Pinterest board, in hte Art section, with a working link!**_

 _ **And thank you so much to**_ Michelle the Editor _ **for proofreading the whole thing! :D** (I owe you one...)_

 _ **If you want me to send it to you in .pdf, give me your email address through PM, and I'll send it to you** (I'll put it in .pdf on the Discord chat, link on _Millyna's _profile for the link) **.**_

 _ **Hope you liked this chapter, and on to the next!** (now that I finally finished the Magazine, I can focus more on writing again^^)_


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

 ** _Linus Reagan; a few days earlier…_**

 _Linus was slowly turning mad. Seeing the love of his life date all those guys and him having to actually be there was agonizing. Sometimes he wished he could just hand in his resignation. But that would mean not being close to_ her _. And the mere thought of it was even more painful. He needed to find something to do to distract himself. Or he would lose it._

 _He took a long drag on his cigarette, filled his lungs of the acrid smoke and let it all out slowly. It always helped him to clear his mind._

 _"Uh, Mr. Reagan?" someone said, pulling him out of his dark thoughts._

 _Linus looked up. It was Henri Johnson. He had a drag one last time on his cigarette before crushing it in the gravel at his foot. He stood from the stone steps of the Servant's door. "Yeah?"_

 _"Do you have a moment? I'd like to have a word with you."_

 _"Sure," he said. "What's up?"_

 _Henri looked around. "Not here, though." He walked passed Linus and since Linus' curiosity had been tickled, he followed the Selection Coordinator, further in the gardens. Both men made sure no one was around, and they kept their voices low._

 _Henri looked around one last time. "Okay. You're on Eliza's side, right?"_

 _"We're taking sides, now?" Linus asked, chuckling._

 _"Yeah. Um, Eliza told me to come to you for this. She said you had some… uh… experience in this stuff._

 _"What stuff?" Linus said. "Get to the point."_

 _Henri looked around again. "Spying."_

 _Linus scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What did she tell you?"_

 _"Just that it was a long story, she didn't go into any detail. But she said you'd be up for this."_

 _"Henri, stop beating around the bush. Who needs spying on? One of the Selected?"_

 _"No," Henri said. He took a deep breath. "Number Two."_

 _"_ Number two _, as in_ the sister _?"_

 _Henri nodded. "She's on to rooting out all the Selected by trying to find some dirt on them. You saw how it went down with Spencer, the other day."_

 _Linus nodded._

 _"We need to find dirt, and I mean_ dirty _dirt on Number Two. Before she does any more damage."_

 _Linus was silent. He crossed his arms over his chest. "And what do you need me for? You know perfectly as well as I do that she has lots of people on her side. Especially in the Palace."_

 _"I know. But you need to get close to her. If you want to get close to her, she needs to trust you. You need to-"_

 _"No. It's out of the question. She'll be suspicious of me," Linus said, shaking his head._

 _"How else are you going to find something on her, then?" he asked, on the defensive. "Oooh. Microphones."_

 _Linus chuckled, a dark gleam in his eyes. "There is no way I'm putting bugs in her room. The woman's a maniac."_

 _"I don't know. Find something."_

 _"You know that counts as treason if I'm caught, right?"_

 _Henri sighed. "Eliza said to do everything in her name. It was her idea. And Number Two can't do anything about that."_

 _"Uh, yeah, she could. She could take Eliza out, once and for all…" he trailed off, a realization hitting him just now. "Actually, you know what? Count me in."_

 _"Uh, okay? What changed your mind?" Henri said, suspicious._

 _"Nothing, you're right. We need to secure Eliza's place on the throne." He nodded quickly and walked away._

 _If Eliza was fit unworthy to rule because she was a traitor to her Crown, she wouldn't be a Princess anymore, she wouldn't have to do the Selection anymore, and she would be free to marry whoever she wanted._

 _That kiss they had shared in the hidden servant's corridor had left him high off of Eliza for three days. He needed to feel that again. And soon._

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Present day, still Linus Reagan…_**

After putting a tiny mike under Millie's desk and one under the drawer of her nightstand, he hadn't learned anything of use. It was only talk about the schools and whatnot. But there was one man he could contact and maybe have him side with them.

On Monday afternoon, he took his car and went to Beverly Hills to find Duke Alaric Rockefeller. He knocked on the mansion's door, and was met by the butler of the Rockefeller family. He briefly introduced himself and convinced the butler to take him to see Alaric. The man had his own apartment within the Mansion, and when he opened the door, he was all sweaty and breathless from his daily workout session.

"Reagan?" Alaric said, confused to see Linus there. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi. Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah," Alaric said, stepping aside. "You mind if I just go take a shower?"

"Sure."

Alaric quickly went to take a shower, leaving Linus alone in the Duke's apartment. He looked around, but apart for some sports medals and winning cups, and some pictures, there was nothing really interesting about the man.

"Sorry," Alaric said, coming back and ruffling his wet hair with a towel. "What can I do for you?"

Linus had the whole way coming over to figure out how to broach the subject of _Number Two_ with Alaric.

"So," he started. "We haven't seen you since… you know… the proposal."

Alaric raised an eyebrow. "You thought I would come back there?" he snorted. "Did you see how she threw me away like some dirty trash bag?"

"No, I wasn't there when it happened," he said. "But I heard. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well. Thanks." He shrugged. Clearly, it was still a bit raw on him.

"Does that mean you're not going to try to win her again?" Linus asked.

"Are you crazy? That woman is insufferable. She thinks everything is hers for the taking." He paused. "I don't know what happened, but when I met her, she wasn't like that."

"Look," Linus said, getting to the point. "We're trying to find something on her that could discredit her or something. You saw what happened to that Spencer guy, right?"

"Yeah…"

"She's probably going to do that with everyone. We need to stop her."

Alaric laughed. "She's smart. Whatever she's doing, it's legal, and she covers her tracks well."

"Not that smart," Linus said. "You saw the Report last night?"

"Yeah," Alaric said, scrunching his brow. "She didn't know about her part at the end, right?"

"No, she didn't know."

Alaric smirked. "That's how you get her to slip. When she's unprepared, and it's unscripted. She always prepares her lines carefully. She snapped, yesterday."

Linus chuckled.

Alaric stood and headed to the table, where a tray with a bottle of whiskey and several glasses were waiting to be used. "Whiskey?"

"Yeah, thanks," Linus said. He was off-duty for the day. Eliza had made that perfectly clear. She didn't need him to babysit her all the time, especially if the date was around the Palace.

"Oh, and one more thing," Alaric said. "You know how she always gets new expensive handbags, Designer dresses, and Louboutin shoes?"

"No? How?"

"Where do you think the money comes from?"

"From her father? I'm sure there's a special Millie Budget."

Alaric sipped the alcohol and snorted. "Yeah, there is a budget for that. It's called _Princess Emilia's Schools_.

"You're joking."

"Nope." He shrugged as if it was obvious. "If you want some real dirt on her, check her bank account."

Linus was silent for a moment. He knew there was a way to hack into a computer, but he had no idea how. He'd have to hire someone. Better make sure the hacker was on Eliza's side, though. Or it could go haywire.

"Thanks, man," Linus said, putting the unfinished whiskey back on the table. "But I need to get back before people start wondering where I am."

"No problem."

Linus and Alaric shook hands, and the Duke walked Linus back to the front door.

"Oh," Alaric said when Linus was just stepping outside. "And I can't wait to see her fall. The higher you are, the lower you fall, right?" he chuckled dryly, and Linus was on his way.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Illéan Palace, middle of the afternoon._**

Eliza was sitting on her couch reading with Mrs. Pebbles on her lap, waiting for her date to come. He said he wanted to come personally to get her. So she waited. And it was already past four in the afternoon. Had he forgotten?

A knock sounded on her door, but she had just two paragraphs left to read in the chapter! She slowly stood up, tried not to trip on the coffee table and headed to the door.

"Coming," she called out to let him know she had heard him.

One more paragraph…

One more line.

Done.

She opened the door. "Alek," she greeted her date. "I thought you would never come, you didn't give me an hour."

He chuckled. "Yes, I'm sorry, but I wanted the whole thing to be a surprise. And I had some things to take care of. Are you ready?"

"Uhm, yes," she said, putting down her book and making sure she didn't lose the page she was on. "Is there something I need to wear?"

Alek smirked. "Whatever you wear when you go riding."

"Okay. Just give me five minutes. Come in. You can wait in here."

He nodded his thanks and Eliza got her riding outfit and changed in the bathroom. Five minutes later, she was ready. "Okay. Ready."

"Excellent," he said, coming over from his watching pictures in frames Eliza had on her desk. "Shall we?" he said, opening the door for her and picking his backpack from the floor. Eliza chuckled and walked passed him in her riding outfit, boots and all.

"You're not riding?" she asked, seeing as he didn't have a riding outfit on.

"Oh, yes, I do. I'll change in the stables."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you're not going to do some striptease in the hay."

Alek burst out laughing. "No, I promise I won't. I just didn't want to walk around the palace in that outfit."

"And yet, I do?"

Alek chuckled and motioned his backpack. "You want me to go change now? Because I can."

"Yeah," she said. "I don't want to be the only one in tight pants and boots."

He chuckled. "Okay." They went to the second floor and found his room – room 203 – and went in. Now it was her turn to look at his stuff while he changed. There was a small glass case with a crown on a cushion, and next to it was a sword.

Just then, he came out, freshly changed in his riding outfit, boot and all. _Boots and all._ And since Alek was someone who liked to work out a lot apparently, his legs, torso, and arms were well-muscled. Just the right amount, though. Not too much, and not too small either. She almost forgot the question she wanted to ask.

"Uh," she said, clearing her mind. "Is that your crown?"

"Yeah," he said, coming over. "I thought I'd take it with me. But I never really wear it."

"I don't remember seeing you at the Ball with it."

He shook his head. "No, you're right. I didn't. I almost did, but then I took it off." He chuckled. "And that sword? It was forged when I was born. We all have one. My sisters and I."

"That's so awesome," Eliza said. "I wish I had a sword forged at my birth." She chuckled.

Alek looked outside. "It's time. Come on."

"Time for what?"

"For our date." He grinned and took the backpack on the floor. She followed him outside and they walked in a companionable chatter.

"Your bodyguard's not here for this date?" he suddenly asked, looking around.

"No. I told him I could handle myself, especially on a date on the palace grounds." She chuckled. "As long as we don't end up on the other side of town, in a music festival."

Alek laughed. "Don't worry. We're staying around here, I promise." He looked behind them, where Ruby was following with Lukas, taking pictures. "I do hope they go away, though."

Eliza looked over her shoulder. "We can tell them to go away when we've had enough of them, don't worry."

"Good." He looked at her and took off his backpack, looking for something inside. "Because I don't want to share you with anyone else, today. I already have to do that with twenty other guys, so…" He looked up and her profile was perfect. Her smile was there, and he snapped a picture with his Polaroid.

"What the-"

"Relax, it's just a Polaroid camera." He chuckled.

"You're gonna take pictures of me?" she asked, worried.

"Why not? I think you're gorgeous."

She snorted. "Yeah, well. I've been told that a lot."

"I see," he said. Just then, they arrived at the stables, where two horses – one being Luna – were waiting for them, already saddled up for a leisurely walk. One of the stablemen handed her her velvet helmet and she secured it under her chin. She then climbed on Luna's back and waiting for Alek to be ready. Ruby and Lukas took pictures of them getting ready and walking away but didn't follow. One of the reasons was because neither one of them could ride, so…

As they rode in the late afternoon sun, Eliza and Alek chatted about random things.

"You know," he said. "I admire you greatly. Ours is not an easy life, but you seem to me to be more than capable of handling it." He looked away, fiddling with his camera again. Then he brought it to his face. "Smile!"

She looked back at him with a goofy grin, trying to ruin his photo. He snapped one anyway. "You're right, we don't have an easy life. That's why I wanted to go to college so badly, just to get away, you know? You did too, I heard?"

"Yes, I did. In Oslo. Far away from the Royal Palace in Stockholm."

"What did you study?"

"I got a Ph.D. in Business and Political Science. Which we have in common." He was waiting for the photo to be printed and blew on it to dry.

"So we do. Although your Ph.D. outweighs my Master's Degree, I'd say.

"Maybe," he said, handing her the photo. He then turned around to take a picture of the setting sun coming through the trees.

Eliza looked at the photo and was speechless. It was beautiful. _She_ was beautiful. The setting sun gave her a golden glow and bounced off her smile. She couldn't remember the last time she'd look that happy, with a genuine smile. It was definitely a far better photo than those taken by Lukas, or any other photograph, really.

When she looked up at him from the photo, he was grinning, looking at her.

"See? I told you you were gorgeous."

She smiled shyly. People often told her she was beautiful, but she never really believed them. Hearing something too many times doesn't help. But this picture?

"Thank you," she said.

They let their horses walk at their own pace, staying silent for a while. It felt good to just be outside, in the setting sun, riding. With no expectation whatsoever.

"Hey, I remember reading something about you. You founded something for the LGBT community in Swendway, right?"

"Yes, I have. It's called the Aleksander Narsson Foundation."

"Right. I forgot the name. Although it's obvious." She chuckled. "That's pretty cool actually," she said. "I wish there was something here, in Illéa, like this."

"There isn't?" he asked.

"Not that I know of."

"It's a worldwide foundation," he said. "Illéa was on my list."

She smiled. "Then you should definitely do something here. Once I'm Queen, though. I'm not sure my dad would be very happy about it."

"Huh," Alek said. "He's homophobic?"

"No, I don't think he is. It's just he's not really comfortable about it."

"Because my dad is."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. I haven't spoken to him more than two words since I came out. As Bi."

She looked at him curiously. "Yeah, I knew that. And how do the people of Swendway deal with a homophobic King?"

Alek laughed bitterly. "They're glad not all the royals are like him. I think they can't wait for my sister to be crowned Queen."

Eliz grinned. "Is that soon? Or is your father clinging to his Crown?"

"No, it's soon. In a month, actually. And she asked me to come back home for it. Do you mind?"

"Of course, not! This is really exciting!"

"Thanks," he said. "And if I'm still in the selection, would you like to come with me?"

"I'm not sure I'm invited," she said.

"Are you kidding me? She's always wanted to find an excuse to meet you. Amina is a great fan of yours."

Eliza snorted. "I doubt that. I'm just your average Princess, I-"

"Okay, listen to me," he said, grabbing her horse's reins. He turned his horse around so they'd be facing each other, instead of next to each other. "Look at me," he said softly. She looked up. "You are the most incredible person on earth, Eliza. You're going through so much, you have to deal with haters, but you always keep a smile on her face, and your chin up." He paused. "You're not an average Princess. You're going to be the best Queen ever."

Eliza looked up in his green eyes. "You're just saying that. I get it. You're here to win my hand or whatever. But I'm really not-"

Alek silenced her with a finger on her lips. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he held himself in check. For now. "You are," he said. "You're kind, caring, funny, beautiful, inside and out. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay?"

She stared at his green eyes and his warm smile. How could she not believe him? "Okay."

"Good. We should head back. Otherwise, we're going to eat at midnight."

She chuckled. "What are you talking about? It's only six o'clock," she said checking the time on her phone."

"I need time to cook," he said.

"You're cooking?"

"Oh yeah," he said, grinning. "I hope you like barbecue?"

Her eyes widened like saucers and a grin appeared on her lips. "I haven't eaten barbecue food in like forever. But yeah, I love it."

He grinned. "Great. Then let's go."

They both headed back to the stables, chatting about random subjects. But what caught most their focus, was traveling. She asked him questions about Swendway, and he about places in Illéa he hadn't been to before.

"Well, if you come with me to my sister's coronation, we should take a few days to play tourists. You'd love it there," he said, climbing off his horse. Eliza followed suit and they headed back to the Palace.

"I'd love that," she said. "And I should definitely talk to Henri about some official Selection Tour to visit Illéa. There are places I haven't even been to, yet."

They didn't even change from their riding clothes and headed directly to the kitchens, where the staff and cooks were in an uproar before the evening meal. Thankfully, Alek had come ahead of time to ask for a little corner to be able to cook, and he had prepared some things beforehand, too.

"It took me more time than anticipated to prepare all this," he said, taking out pans and boxes, "that's why I only came to get you at four o'clock."

Eliza chuckled. "What on earth could take so much time? Didn't you say it was a barbecue?"

"Yeah, but barbecued meat is just one part of the meal."

"Oooh," she said, leaning against the wall. "So what's on the menu?"

"Well, I just need to get some things ready, but the first course is a _Cocktail Caravan of shrimp and Avocado_." He took a pair of avocados from a bowl and started preparing them, mashing them, and filling small verrines, with shrimp on top. He put something in the oven – Eliza didn't see what it was – and they went outside, in the small kitchen courtyard and ate the first course.

After that, he went back inside and came back a few minutes later with two bowls. " _Zucchini soup with raw salmon and pesto_ ," he said, putting the pates on the table. "The salmon is getting cooked in the soup, as we speak."

Eliza raised a curious eyebrow. "That's an interesting combination of ingredients," she said, but quickly took back her words when she tasted the soup. "Oh, my God. This is so good," she said. "We should tell the Palace cook to put this on his menu."

Alek grinned. "Glad you like it." They ate in silence, enjoying every drop of the soup and the fish.

"When did you start cooking?" she asked.

He shrugged. "When I was in college, I guess. I was tired of canned food and pasta, so I tried something new. I took a few lessons, and then I tried to elaborate with my own ideas."

She laughed. "Wow. I stayed at the canned food and pasta stage when I was in college. It seems I never had the time to do more."

"Studying for three Masters Degrees takes time," he said. "So it's understandable."

She chuckled. When they were done, he gathered the plates and went back inside. "Okay, now for the main course," he said. That's gonna take a little more time if you want to come inside."

I'd like that," she said, gathering some things from the table and taking them inside. Dirty dishes were piling up in the sink, so while he prepared the main course, she started washing the dishes of the first two courses.

"Oh, no, Your Highness," one of the kitchen staff said, seeing the Princess elbow-deep in dirty water and dirty dishes. "You're not supposed to do that."

Eliza looked at the flustered girl. "Why not?"

"Because you're a Princess. You're not supposed to- The cook said I should do the dishes. I-"

"What's your name?" Eliza asked.

"Molly, Milady."

"Well, then Molly. Do you want to help me?"

The poor girl didn't know what to do. She rolled up her sleeves and started drying the clean dishes. She was blushing from the tips of her ears to the tips of her fingers. Never in her life did she imagine one day doing the dishes with the _Princess_ …

"Okay, all set," Alek said, coming back from outside where he had already set the table and the rest of the meal.

The dishes of the first two courses were done, and Eliza dried her hands on the towel. She thanked Molly for her help and followed Alek outside.

"Oh, wow. It smells really good!" she exclaimed, stepping in the courtyard.

Alek grinned and opened the barbecue grill, revealing two deer steaks cooked perfectly on point. They sat at the table and Alek served her some green beans wrapped with bacon, a scoop or two of homemade mashed potatoes, and the steak. The meat practically melted in Eliza's mouth, and the green beans and potatoes were exquisitely well seasoned.

Eliza closed her eyes in a burst of foodgasm.

Alek chuckled and ate his own steak. "Glad you like it."

"I've never tasted anything this good in ages," she said. Then she looked back at the kitchen door. She wouldn't dare say that in front of the cook.

They enjoyed every last bit of crumb and Eliza was sad when there was nothing left.

"But there's more," Alek said mysteriously. "Stay here," he said. "I want the dessert to be a surprise." As soon as he stepped into the kitchen two girls – one of them being Molly – quickly cleaned the table, making sure Eliza wouldn't do the dishes again.

So Eliza waited outside, closing her eyes. Her belly was full – and she wasn't sure if she could eat dessert – and a light summer breeze caressed her face and made her hair blow lightly around her. She didn't hear Alek come out, and he stared at her for a second. He quietly put down the two plates, and took his camera. He snapped another picture of serene-Eliza, which startled her. She opened her eyes only to see a grinning Alek holding onto the printing picture. He put the picture on the table and brought the two plates.

"Apple pie fresh from the oven, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The whipped cream is yours to add as much you want." He grinned and gave her the whipped cream.

"I'm sure I can find some room in my stomach for this," she said, eyes wide. "You actually made all this?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning.

"That's very impressive," she replied. "You can do that again whenever you want," she added, forking a piece of warm apple pie in her mouth, followed by a small scoop of cold ice cream. "I could eat this every day for the rest of my life, I could die happy."

Alek laughed. "Good to know."

They chatted some more and ate the entire pie before they went for a digestive stroll in the gardens.

"I have to say," Eliza said at some point, "that waiting until four o'clock was totally worth it."

Alek smiled and took her hand in his. They walked like this around the gardens until it became a little chilly and they headed back inside. He walked her up to her room and though he wanted to kiss her, he didn't. It would have to come from her. She thanked him for the lovely date, bid him good night, and went to her room.

Once inside, she thought that was rude of her, and she opened the door again, to call after him. She didn't know why, but she did it nonetheless. He was still there.

"I forgot to take a selfie with you," she blurted out.

"Oh, um," he chuckled awkwardly. Not what he was expecting. "Here, maybe this will be better?" He handed her some photos from the Polaroid camera – photos of her alone, and photos of them both – and she took them between her fingers, inspecting them.

"They're beautiful. Thank you." She paused, and he started to walk away. "Alek, wait. I-" she looked up at him, not knowing what to say.

So he filled in the words she didn't say. He stepped closer and pressed his lips against hers, gently at first, then harder. She didn't know what to do with her arms. He kissed her for a full minute and then he broke off and smiled at her. She smiled back and went to her room.

* * *

 _ **Hi! hope you enjoyed this chapter... ;D don't forget to check the Aesthetic for this chapter on the Pinterest board!**_

 _ **Thanks to**_ Sabinethefangirl _ **for the date and dinner idea! :)**_

 _ **Have a nice weekend, and I'll see you soon!**_

 _(ps: and don't forget the Companions^^ there hasn't been one in a while^^)_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

When Eliza woke up on Tuesday morning to the sound of the **rooster** – or had she only imagined it? Was it in her dream? – she realized she was all tangled in her **yellow** sheets, almost as tightly as a **burrito**. She **blindly** found an escape route in the dark, until she could turn on her light. Samantha hadn't come in yet, so Eliza knew she still had some time left.

She stayed in bed a few more minutes, then Samantha appeared with a new timetable for the day and a cleaned and pressed dress. Eliza rolled out of bed and took a look at the schedule. How she was going to handle the day's events was a mystery to her. It was **juggling** with seven bottles. Or chainsaws on fire, depending on the mood.

But, first things first. Eliza headed straight to the shower and took her time. Her hair needed some careful caring, with rosemary oil and such, and it took time. When she got out, her room was fresh and aired, the bed was made, the flowers in the vase changed to freshly cut ones, and her dress was laid out on her bed. Samantha was quickly near her to help her put it on and style her hair.

"Is there a special occasion, today?" Eliza asked while Sam did her hair.

"No. Why?"

"I don't know. It's a rather nice dress for an ordinary day, don't you think?"

"Milady, isn't the Selection an occasion enough to look pretty?" Sam asked, pinning her hair in place. "I mean, you are dating princes. Not common boys."

Eliza snorted. "You know, these boys are more relatable than you think. I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly decided to go to Disneyland."

Samantha made a shocked face that Eliza caught in the mirror. She smirked. No one knew these boys as she did. And she was sure more things happened when she was not with them. No Caste was separating them like in a _traditional_ Selection. They were all on the same level, with little to lose. They would all go home still princes – or other – and they didn't have any expectations. Only their families did.

"There," Sam said. "Last one."

Eliza gently shook her head, making sure all the pins stayed securely in place. "Thanks." She then took the daily schedule, folded it in a small rectangle and slipped it in her pocket… but it fell on the floor.

"Milady," Samantha said, picking up the paper. "You dropped this."

Eliza frowned and noticed only then that her dress did _not_ have pockets! "Sam, I told you I needed pockets on _all_ my dresses," she said, confused.

"I'm sorry, miss," Sam said, even more confused. "But this one didn't have any when it came in."

"Then add some," Eliza said, stuffing the piece of paper in her bra. "Once I'll take it off tonight," she said. "I think I can survive without pockets for a day." She stopped just before going out the door. "I forgot my phone." She came back and remembered she didn't have pockets. "Where do I put my phone, now?" she sighed. It wouldn't fit in her bra, now. "I'll just carry it around, I guess."

"I'll make sure there are pockets in every dress, Milady," Samantha said, truly sorry, wringing her hands.

"It's fine, don't worry," Eliza replied, still a little annoyed. She left and headed to the breakfast room. While walking down the stairs, she checked the latest news on her phone. There was a message from Ruby:

 **Ruby** : Hello Eliza, just wanting to let you know that the crew from the magazine Illéa Weekly will be coming over on Thursday. I talked with your father, and he (and his advisors) were okay with it.

 **Eliza** : Good to know.

 **Eliza** : Why am I always the last one to know about this?

 **Eliza** : Sorry. I should be angry with my dad. Not with you. Thanks for letting me know ;)

 **Ruby** : I'm sorry. I just wanted to see with the King first if it was okay, and he made me call on the spot.

 **Eliza** : don't worry I

The message was never finished. Ruby would see the _Eliza is typing…_ thing on her phone for a long time. The Princess missed a step, since she wasn't looking where she was going and fell the last half dozen steps.

"Oh, my God, Eliza, are you okay?!" Adrien, who had just come at the top of the stairs, came in flying down the steps to help the Princess up. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I think," she said, gladly taking his hands to stand up. But she fell right back down again. "Actually, I'm not," she winced, seeing her foot was at an odd angle.

"Oh, sh- sugar and salt," Adrien said, seeing her ankle. "Here, let me take you to the infirmary." Adrien wasn't very tall nor heavy, but he was very muscular. And scooping up the Princess bridal-style in his arms was no trouble for him. "You'll have to guide me there. I've never been there, yet," he said.

"I can walk," she said.

"No, you can't. Besides, it gives me an excuse to spend some time with you, first thing in the morning." He smirked and Eliza chuckled.

"Fine. Follow the west wing, on your left, over there," she said pointing in that direction. "It's at the end of the hall."

He walked there without seeing anyone on his way. At the end of the corridor, there was a double door and he pushed them open with his shoulder, walked slightly backward to get in. There was no one there.

"Hello?" he called out. He looked at Eliza, who had become pale on their way. "Are there usually people this early in the morning?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she said.

Adrien gently put her down on the bed and went on a scavenger hunt around the infirmary to find some ice. Thank goodness, there was a freezer, and he took out some ice that he wrapped in a towel, as to not freeze Eliza's ankle. "Here, put this on your foot, I'll see if I can find someone."

"Okay, thanks," she said. She winced when she touched her ankle but the ice felt nice.

Just as Adrien was looking for a phone number on the corkboard, a nurse came in.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I was just getting the package to replenish our bandages and stuff," she said coming in. Then she noticed the Prince of Monaco and Princess Elisabeth. She curtsied clumsily with the box in her arms. "Your Highnesses," she said. "Please excuse my lateness."

"It's fine," Eliza said. "We just got here."

The nurse put the box on the desk and went directly to Eliza. When she saw the makeshift ice pack, she looked at Adrien.

"Did you do this?"

"Uh, yeah. Was that bad?"

"No, it was a good idea." She smiled at him and went to work on Eliza's ankle. "Okay, so it's not broken, you just sprained it." She put the ice pack back on her ankle and went to look for a splint in the closet where they kept all the supplies.

"And just because I didn't have any pockets," Eliza mumbled.

"What?" Adrien said, coming closer.

Eliza chuckled. "If I had had pockets on my dress, I would have put my phone in one, and I wouldn't have fallen down the stairs."

He chuckled. "Pockets on a dress? Isn't that a pant thing?"

"Oh, no. I need pockets whatever clothes I'm wearing," she said. "Pockets are life. If I could have ten hidden pockets on me, that would actually be very effective. Because carrying a handbag around is really not my thing."

Adrien chuckled.

"Sorry, I'm babbling," she said, pushing away some strands of hair away from her face. She sighed. "My hair must look completely disheveled, right?"

He smirked. "A little. But I'm afraid I have no idea how to help you…"

When the nurse came back, she took off the ice and secured her foot into the splint while Eliza took out every single pin out of her hair. Once that was done, she braided her hair on the side. "Sam took so much time doing my hair this morning," she said. "Too bad."

"You look good like this," Adrien said. "You look more like a normal girl than a Princess."

Eliza chuckled. "Thanks. But I'm sure a pair of crutches is going to make me look even more like a normal girl than Princess," she replied, seeing the pair leaning on the bed.

The nurse chuckled. "I'm afraid you're going to have to use them in the next few days," she said. "For the next forty-eight hours, you can't put weight on your feet. You can't put it down. Then, you'll gradually put weight back on it, but not all at once. As for the ice, you'll want to put some for twenty minutes every three to four hours. But no longer than twenty minutes, or you could damage the tissue. And also, try to keep your foot elevated as much as possible. It'll help with the swelling."

Eliza nodded and looked at Adrien. "You got all that?"

"What? It's not for me."

"I know, I'm messing with you." Her belly made some noise, and she chuckled nervously. "I was on my way to breakfast," she said. "Can I go?"

"Sure," the nurse said. "Come back tonight, I'll secure your ankle for the night."

Eliza nodded and Adrien helped her down the bed. He gave her the crutches and she tried them out. "I'm so not strong in the arms," she said. "This is going to take some time."

The nurse smirked. "I'm sure you'll find some pairs of strong arms to carry you up the stairs, Milady."

Eliza blushed. "No way. I can take care of myself."

Adrien chuckled and both of them were on their way to the breakfast room. It was slow progress, but they finally made it. Everyone looked up at her and were surprised to see her with crutches.

"Adrien, man! What did you do to her?" Rafe asked.

"It was a lack of pockets, it wasn't Adrien's fault, I promise."

Adrien laughed at the guys' puzzled expressions. And instead of going all the way to the other side of the room to the Schreave table – which was almost empty, save for Andromeda and Elinor - Eliza sat with the boys, who made room for her.

"No, but seriously," Alek said. "What happened?"

Eliza rolled her eyes, a little embarrassed. "Beginner's mistake, really. I was typing on my phone while walking down the stairs and I missed a step. Adrien happened to be there at the right time." She frowned. "My phone! I dropped it when I fell."

"I have it here," Adrien said, taking it out from his pocket. "But the screen is cracked."

"Ugh," Eliza said, taking the phone from him. "But thanks."

"Can I get you anything from the buffet?" CJ asked, coming over.

"I'd like that."

"What do you want?"

She chuckled. "Surprise me."

CJ raised an eyebrow. "Uh, okay." He headed to the buffet table, wondering what he was going to get her. Rance and Hans came up behind him to offer some help. The three of them managed to get her a hearty breakfast: cinnamon rolls – everyone knew her love for those, by now – with strawberries and whipped cream, and a cup of coffee. They added some scrambled eggs at the end, trying to make a balanced meal.

When she saw the plate, she laughed. "Not bad, actually." She thanked them and ate her breakfast while chatting with the guys.

From the Schreave table, Andromeda and Elinor were both wearing very different facial expressions. Queen Elinor was urging herself not to roll her eyes. Of course, her daughter had to go and twist her ankle, only to get even more attention. And the magazine that was coming in two days. Great image.

On the other hand, Andromeda was smiling, finding it quite endearing to see all those guys – most of them, actually – taking care of her granddaughter. She had her personal favorites, but she would let Eliza choose on her own.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's Parlor, 9:30 am._**

After breakfast, Eliza headed to the Men's Parlor with the guys. She sat at the front of the room, keeping her foot elevated.

"Okay, so as you may have remembered," she started, "tomorrow we're going to do another hospital visit. So again, I'm going to ask you who wants to come to Likely."

"With your sprained ankle?" Otávio asked, concerned.

"Oh, yeah. Of course!" she said. "What better way to bond with the kids than to be myself hurt?" she chuckled. "So who would like to come this time?"

More hand than the last time shot up.

"Xander and Hans," Eliza said, "you're coming this time. You wanted to come last time. What about you, Jinhai? You also wanted to come last time?"

"Maybe next week," he said. "I still need to convince some others to come along."

Eliza chuckled. "Okay. But this is not mandatory, you know?" She looked at the raised hands. "Quin and Alek. That's four. Perfect."

Henri gave her the black box while he wrote down the four names. She picked out a name and read it out loud.

"Henryk."

He grinned. "Good. Uhm, evening? And I'll organize our date. Let's say six o'clock?"

"Sure. Great! I'll see you guys later, then." She handed the box back to Henri and wobbled her way out of the room with her crutches. The guys were careful not to leave unwanted legs and feet in the alley so she wouldn't trip on them.

"Okay, gentlemen," Henri said. "I have two things for you this morning. First, an Illéan magazine crew will be coming to the Palace to cover the Selection for a Special Edition."

"What magazine?" Rance asked. "They haven't all been very positive…"

"You're right. They haven't. But _Illéa Weekly_ , despite being a people's magazine, has always been very supportive of the royal family. Jade Reese, the Editor, is a huge fan of the Princess, and will do everything in her power to make this Special Edition perfect."

"When are they coming?" Tom asked.

"I was getting to that," Henri said, hiding his annoyance. Even though this wasn't a classroom, it sometimes felt like it. "Thursday. They'll be hanging with us all day, taking pictures, interviewing each one – including the Royal Family – so I don't think it's necessary for me to remind you to be on your best behavior."

"You just did," Rafe did.

"I know." Henri sighed. "Because it was necessary to remind you. Anyway," he said going through his notes on his tablet. "The second thing, and most important of all, is Eliza's birthday, which is coming up-"

"Next week, August 3rd, Saturday," Kwasi said, looking on his own tablet. "She's going to be twenty-five."

"Yes," Henri said, trying _hard_ not to be annoyed at always being interrupted. "Twenty-five, which is also a quarter of a century, so it'll have to be something big. I already talked to her about it and-"

"Aw, we can't do a surprise party?" Adrien asked.

"If you let me finish," Henri said coldly, "maybe you would have all the information, Adrien."

"Sorry."

"Thank you. _As I was saying_ ," Henri continued, "I have already talked to her about it, and she wanted something small, which is not possible, due to the circumstances. We decided it would be a Charity Gala, with important people coming, and – that's where you gentlemen come in – you will be organizing it. If you want."

"Hell yeah!" Rafe said. "Party all night!"

Henri noticed some of the guys making themselves tiny and trying to hide. Clearly, not everyone wanted to help organize this event. "As you may know," he said, "organizing events such as this will be one of your many responsibilities when you marry Eliza."

" _If_ ," Nikolai said. "Please say _if_."

Henri wanted to roll his eyes. "Fine. _If_ you marry Eliza. So, you need to start getting used to it. Who has already organized an event like this?"

Not many hands shot up. In fact, there were only three. Out of twenty-two. _Okay,_ Henri thought _. This is going to be tougher than I expected._ "Good. That's good. We can work with that."

He then told them about the basics of organizing such an event, but the boys were mostly interested in choosing the Charity.

"It could give us a theme, if we know what Charity we're doing," Sebastian said. "I mean, we can't have an Ocean-themed dinner if we're doing something for the ice-skating people." Everyone laughed. "Just an example."

It took them the whole of two hours to all agree on the Charity. After that, Henri divided them into groups – he only then noticed the change in the atmosphere when the groups were made. its is due to the Mongasian War update that occurred during the previous weekend? Maybe.

He gave each group a specific task – guest list, menu, decoration, invitations, … – just before lunch time. He asked them to think about their tasks because they would be working on that during the next mornings, even without the four that would be going to the Hospital in the Likely the next day.

 **-x-x-x-**

A little before six o'clock, Eliza was ready for her next date. She was really grateful to the guys for organizing those dates, because that was one thing less to do each day. All she had to do was show up and enjoy. And that evening was no different, although she had no idea what they were going to do.

She was wearing a white V-necked t-shirt with a navy blue and white polka dot skirt, a brown leather belt, and matching brown _flats_ , because wearing heels with the crutches was not an option. Sam had styled her hair in a half waterfall braid with her hair loose in her back.

She knew it would take more time than usual to get to the Main Entrance hall, so she left early. The stairs were really not her favorite thing, now.

Linus had been gone all day – it was his day off – and he was walking up the steps to take the next round at her door when he saw her.

"Oh, my God, Liz. What happened?" he said, stopping next to her, concern plain on his face.

She sighed. "Nothing serious." She offered him a smile. "I just sprained my ankle this morning while walking down the stairs."

He frowned. "Someone pushed you?"

"No. I was just typing on my phone."

He chuckled lightly. "Can I help you down the stairs?"

She sighed. She didn't want help from him, but she did want help to go down three flights of stairs. "Yeah. Please."

She was expecting he held her arm or something. Instead, he scooped her in his arms bridal-style – it was really that kind of day, since it was the second time, today someone did that – and she held her crutches in front of them.

"I can't believe there isn't any elevator in this damn Palace," he said. "Isn't that kind of mandatory, nowadays?"

She chuckled. "Oh, there is one. No one used it, so dad shut it down when we were kids."

"Wait, there's one? How come no one turned it back on, now?" he said, careful where he landed his feet. Only two flights left.

"Because I'm handicapped only for a couple of days. No one even suggested it."

Linus scoffed. "I'm going to have it working before the end of the day." He paused. "Where is it?"

Eliza smirked. "Good luck in finding it. It looks like a random door, actually. But I can't even tell you where it is. I'm not sure exactly where it is, to be honest."

"Fine. I'll ask around." He stared at her a moment, and their gazes met.

"Linus, you need to stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Looking at me like that." She sighed. "The guys aren't blind, you know? And talking about the guys, I'm dating them, and I'm doing a _Selection_."

"Yeah, I know."

"Then stop doing that. You know an _us_ is impossible."

"So you're saying there could an _us,_ maybe?"

"No." She looked away. "I'm saying you have to stop. Find someone else."

He snorted. "That's not going to be possible," he said softly.

They continued in silence, until he had walked down the three flights. "Okay, you can put me down, now," she said. "Thank you for your help."

He gently put her down. "I can't promise you anything, Liz" he said. "Because you are in my every thought."

She wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't. "Think of something else, then."

He nodded and walked away. Oh, he had other things to think of. Like making sure _Number Two_ didn't do any more damage…

As soon as Linus was gone, Henryk appeared around the corner, holding his hands in his back. Probably hiding something.

"Hey," Eliza said.

"Hi. Sorry, I'm late. The others had to give me something for you."

She chuckled and frowned at the same time, confused. "What?"

He smirked and handed her a small package. Eliza sat down on a close by settee and opened the gift. It was something made of fabric and large elastics. But she didn't understand what it was. "What is it?" she asked.

"May I?" he asked, pointing at the crutches. Eliza nodded and Henryk took one. He dismantled it, attached the fabric thingy to the bottom part, attached it to the top part and reattached the two parts together. "There."

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know what it is."

Henryk laughed. "Give me your phone."

Eliza took it out of her pocket – yes, her skirt had pockets this time – and Henryk slid it in the new pocket, on the crutch. "It's a crutch pocket. So you can carry your phone around even if you don't have pockets." He grinned. "It was Adrien's idea. He told us why you fell."

Eliza laughed. "Oh, my God. This is the sweetest thing! Thank you so much."

"I'm just the delivery man."

"Still. So, what are we doing tonight? I hope it's sprained-ankle-safe."

"Yes, it is, don't worry." He stood and Eliza followed him. They walked to a boudoir on the first floor, so she didn't have to do any more stairs for the moment, and when Henryk pushed the door open, Eliza gasped.

"Oh wow!"

Ruby and Lukas, waiting in the room, took a picture of her reaction.

Couches, pillows, Christmas lights, more pillows, and a table covered in snacks were waiting for them. Henryk grinned. "You like it?"

"Are you kidding? This is amazing!"

"And you can even keep your leg up. And since the movie is quite long, I thought lots of snack should be in order."

"What are we watching?"

Henryk cleared his throat. "I thought it would be fun to show you something from Poland. To show you a bit of our history and humor, and whatever…" he trailed off. "But if you don't like it, we can stop and watch something else."

"Okay. But I'm sure it's going to be fun!"

"It's a really old movie from 1969, and it's called ' _Jak rozpętałem drugą wojnę światową_ ' and the English title is ' _How I Unleashed World War II'._ And we're going to watch it in English, I swear."

Eliza laughed. "I hope so!" She sat on a pile of pillows on the couch and Henryk made sure she had what she needed to keep her leg elevated. He even gave her a pack of ice, which Eliza used right away. It had been a good four hours since the last.

Ruby and Lukas snapped some pictures – trying not to show Eliza's leg and crutches – and stayed until they started the movie.

The movie was cut in three parts, and they did a small intermission between each part, eating, drinking, laughing, and remembering their favorite fun parts. Because even though it was a movie on WWII, it was hilarious.

To make a long story short – because the movie was 3h45: it was the story of a Polish soldier named Franciszek Dolas who, as a result of comical coincidences, is convinced that he started WWII. Trying to redeem himself at all costs, he constantly gets into new trouble. In doing so, he finds himself on different war fronts (Yugoslavia, Mediterranean Sea, Near East, and Italy) and eventually returns to Poland.

Eliza couldn't remember a time when she had laughed this much, and Henryk was relieved that she didn't made them stop the movie to watch another.

It was well past midnight when their date was over, most of the snacks eaten, and their bellies hurting because they laughed too much. Eliza yawned. "Henryk, this was a really fun night. But I think I should go to bed…"

"Sure," he said. "Here, let me help you. And I'm glad you had fun."

Eliza smiled and they walked to the stairs.

"Uh, do you want me to carry you… or…?" he trailed off.

"No, it's fine," she said. "I need to be able to do this on my own."

"At one in the morning?" he asked gently.

Eliza chuckled. "At any given time."

Just then, Linus came down the stair, running. "Don't go any further," he said. "The elevator is working again. I told you I'd have it working by the end of the day."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Did you call the maintenance guy? Or did you do it on your own," she asked, half serious. "Because if you did it on your own, I'd rather climb the step. For safety reasons."

Henryk laughed. "I agree with the Princess."

Linus rolled his eyes. "I called the maintenance guy. I've been going up and down for the past fifteen minutes, just to test it. It's safe, I promise."

Eliza chuckled, just imagine Linus going up and down, up and down. Up and down. "Okay. Fine. I'll come. But Henryk is walking me back to my room," she said pointedly, remembering their last conversation. She'd rather be stuck in an elevator with Henryk than with Linus.

And that was like a stab in the guts to Linus. "Of course." He nodded and led the couple to the Elevator. "Level three, obviously," he said.

Eliza and Henryk stepped in and were both relieved when the machine brought them up to the third floor without any accident. He walked her to her door and he helped her with the knob since she was fumbling with it and her crutches.

"Thanks," she said. "And thank you for this lovely evening, too. It was fun to get to know a bit more about your country in a fun way."

"I'm glad you liked it," he said. "I wasn't sure you would." He chuckled nervously. He then took her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckled. "Good night, Milady."

"Good night, Henryk." She smiled and went to her room, and straight to bed. Before waking up with a start a few minutes into her sleep realizing she hadn't gone to see the nurse who wanted to prepare her ankle for the night. _Oh well, I'll go in the morning._ She fell asleep quickly again.

* * *

 ** _Hi! hope you liked this chapter! sorry, it took a little longer than usual^^ but here it is!_**

 ** _You may have noticed words in bold in the first two paragraphs... I need some push and motivation to write so I asked on Discord for someone to give me 5 words, and_** Gummy ** _obliged with these:_** Burrito – Yellow – Rooster – Juggle – Blind ** _... so yeah, sorry if it was weird._**

 ** _I counted 11 more "first dates" to do! ooof... but if you have another idea than what you wrote in your form, knowing the characters better, and all, feel free to send me your date idea! ;)_**

 ** _next chapters: Hospital visit in Likely, the Illéan Weekly, and more...! see you soon!_**

 ** _ps: and don't forget to check the Aesthetic board for this chapter! ;)_**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Eliza woke up with a throbbing ankle. She really should have gone to see the nurse. She waited for Sam to come, and asked her for a stool so she could take a shower without falling since she wasn't supposed to put any weight on her foot. Sam obliged and Eliza could shower in relative comfort.

When she came out, Samantha helped her get dressed in a nice red knee-length skirt paired with a striped black and white t-shirt and some black flats. She styled her hair in a high messy ponytail and the Princess was on her way. Her first stop was the infirmary.

When she stepped out of the room, Linus was there. He was waiting for her in case she needed anything. She offered him a quick smile, just enough not to be rude, and headed for the stairs.

"Eliza, the elevator is that way," he pointed to the opposite direction than where she was heading.

"I know. But going down is easier. Besides, I need to strengthen my arms, at some point. But thanks." She continued down the stairs, leaving a confused Linus on the third floor. But three flights of stairs _was_ a long way when wobbling with crutches. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally got to the first floor, without encountering anyone. It was still too early for breakfast.

She pushed open the infirmary doors, where the nurse was already there, writing something down at the desk.

"Your Highness," she said, standing up and curtsying. "You came."

"Yeah, sorry about last night. I completely forgot. My date with Henryk lasted until past midnight, and I only thought coming down here once I was in my bed."

"Hmm," the nurse said, not satisfied with the excuse. "Let's see your ankle."

Eliza sat on the examining table and the nurse took her ankle between her hands. "It's more swollen than yesterday," she said. "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, a little," Eliza admitted. "I woke up and it was throbbing. Like I could feel my pulse in my ankle."

"No wonder," the nurse said. She rested the Princess' foot on the table. "I'll be right back."

Eliza sat there, waiting. She took out her phone from the crutch pocket the guys had given her and sent a message to her sister.

 **Eliza** : where r u? I havent seen u in days…

There was no quick reply, and that scared Eliza a little. Where was she and what was she doing? Was she digging for some more dirt on her suitors? She sighed. Just then, the nurse came back.

"Okay, here, put this on your ankle," she said, giving her a pack of ice. "And drink this with it," she continued, giving her a glass of water and a pain killer. "It's for the pain."

Eliza gulped the pill down with the water.

"I hope you're planning on staying home and doing something relaxing today," the nurse said.

"Uhm, no, not really," Eliza said. "I'm going to Likely to visit a children's Hospital with some of the boys."

"No, you're not. With all due respect, Your Highness, I can't let you do that."

Eliza chuckled. "Look. I'm going. And I'll keep wobbling around in crutches for another week if that's the price I'm going to pay. Besides," she said, "it's a two-hour flight to get there, and then I'll just sit down or something when I'm at the hospital. Don't worry about me."

The nurse couldn't really order the Princess not to go. Only the doctor could, and he came only for emergencies and other bigger things.

"Fine. But let me bandage your ankle properly. And you have to promise me to come back tonight _before_ going to bed, whatever time it is."

"I promise," Eliza said, letting the nurse do her magic on her ankle.

"I'll make sure there's an icebox going with you with enough ice for your foot."

"Thank you."

Once she was ready, she walked to the breakfast room. One look at her family's table and she knew Millie was still not there. Where was she?

After saying hi to the group of guys that were already there, she went to the Schreave table and sat at her place.

"How's your ankle, dear?" Andromeda asked.

"Fine, I guess," Eliza said. "It's swollen, but that's normal."

"You're not going to Likely, are you?" her mother asked, frowning.

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I?"

Elinor eyed her daughter. Was she sick as well? "Honey, you can't go in your condition."

"Yeah, no." Eliza said. "I'm going, and that's the end of the discussion." She paused and looked at her mother. "Mother, I want to do this."

Elinor raised an eyebrow. "Don't come whining afterward that it hurts."

"I won't."

She ate her breakfast in silence, wondering where Millie was. She sent another text message.

 **Eliza** : seriously. where r u?

 **Millie** : damn, Liz. Im in Zuni preparing the next school.

 **Millie** : why do u care?

 **Eliza** : why shouldn't i?

 **Millie** : *rolling eyes emoji* just do your stupid selection.

Eliza sighed and put her phone away. And then she realized she didn't have a plate with breakfast, and she was walking with crutches. So she went to the buffet, hoping someone would offer some help.

And sure enough, when Caspian saw she was going for the buffet, he quickly got to his feet. "Can I help you?" he asked, ready to take a plate for her.

She smiled. "Yes, thank you." Having a bunch of guys ' _fighting'_ for your hand did have its perks. He chose two big cinnamon rolls, and then asked her which fruit salad she wanted, and carried back everything – including a mug of hot chocolate – back to the Schreave table. He politely bowed his head to the Queen mother and the two sovereigns.

"Thank you, Cas," Eliza said, sitting down.

"My pleasure." He offered her a smile and joined the boys at their own table.

"I like him," Andromeda said, smirking.

Eliza chuckled. "Who doesn't, seriously?" Then she looked at her grandmother. "Wait. Don't start shipping. It's too soon."

"Shipping?"

"It's-" she sighed, cringing inwardly. "It's when you want two people to end up together. Romantically."

"Oh," Andromeda said, chuckling lightly. "Then I ship… several of them with you." She laughed. "This is such a weird sentence!"

"Who, grandmother?"

Andromeda laughed again. "I'm not telling you. I don't want you to be biased because of me."

"Please tell me? At least one? Not Caspian, I already know that."

"Fine." She smirked. "Tomlin. You saved him from being eliminated when you barely knew him. And I think you two look good together."

Eliza rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Good to know."

Andromeda couldn't stop laughing.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Main Entrance, 9 a.m._**

When the Princess arrived in the main entrance, the four guys were already there, waiting for her.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I took the long way." She chuckled. "All set?"

"Yep," Xander said, hoisting a backpack on his shoulder. "All set."

"What do you have there?" Eliza asked. "Marbles? Chocolate?"

Xander chuckled and exchanged a knowing glance with the others. "You'll see."

"Okay," Eliza said, leading the way outside, where a Limo was waiting for them at the bottom of the steps. She started her way down with the crutches.

"At this rate, we won't get there," Alek said, chuckling. He scooped Eliza in his arms – bridal-style, again – and carried her down the stairs.

"Seriously?" Eliza said. "Why does everyone keep going that?" The others laughed.

Alek just grinned at her. "It's just an excuse to have you close to me," he whispered in her ear, and Eliza blushed. She remembered their kiss and how she had been completely taken by surprise – or maybe not – and hadn't even kissed him back. She mentally kicked herself. She should have kissed him back, right?

Alek gently put her down right next to the open limo door and she climbed in. The four boys followed behind, and Linus climbed in the front, on the passenger seat next to the chauffeur. Xander closed the little window between them and the two men in the front.

"There, better," he said. "I don't like that Linus guy."

Eliza snorted. "He's not _that_ bad."

"He's creepy," Quin said.

"But let's not talk about him, shall we?" Alek said.

"No, you're right. Let's not," Eliza said.

The trip to the Angeles airport was short, and they quickly boarded the Royal airplane for the two-hour flight to Medford, Likely.

Once they were all settled in after the take-off, Eliza said: "I have something we need to talk about." She took the folder that was waiting for her on the plane beforehand and opened it. "I have some info, here, on the Hospital, and since we have two hours ahead of us, I thought maybe we could just go through this. If that's okay with you guys?"

"Sure," Alek said.

Hans was silent and hadn't said a word since they had met in the Hall. And since Alek was the only one in the group who could speak a little German, he explained as best he could what they were going to do. But Hans told him he had understood pretty much everything. It was just talking that was harder for him. English was coming nicely, at least on the understanding part.

"So," Eliza said, skimming the pages in her lap. "This is a hospital specialized in cancer treatments. So all of the kids there have different forms of cancer." She took a deep breath. "It says here that we'll start on the top floor, the less sick, or at the end of their treatments. And we'll go down from there."

The boys nodded.

"Have you guys already done something like that? Visiting sick kids?"

"No, not really," they said.

Eliza nodded. "But you're okay with kids, right?"

"Yeah, of course!" Xander said. "I don't think we would have volunteered if we didn't." The others nodded, agreeing.

"Okay," Eliza said. She went through some more of the pages, reading out loud what she thought was important for them to know. It took them an hour and a half to go through everything.

When it was done, Xander took the bag on his lap. "Okay," he said. "Now we have something for you." He took out a black t-shirt of some kind and she took it, unfolded it, and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What is this?"

"It's a Wonder Woman t-shirt," Xander said, surprised that she didn't recognize the golden logo on the front.

"Yes, I know it's a Wonder Woman t-shirt. But why?"

Xander looked at the others, and they all started unbuttoning their shirts. Eliza laughed when she saw the t-shirts they were wearing underneath.

"Oh, my God. Are you seriously serious? Super-Hero t-shirts?"

"We wanted to get full costumes, you know," Quin said. "But it was too short to get them. We already sent one of the staffs in town yesterday afternoon to get these for us."

Eliza grinned. Hans was wearing a black Batman t-shirt under his dark grey shirt. Xander was Spiderman, Alek was Superman, and Quin was Black Panther. Very fitting to all of them. But Wonder Woman? "I'm everything but Wonder Woman, really," Eliza said. "I'm nothing like her."

"Eliza, you're a lot like her. You're brave, fierce, beautiful…" he trailed off.

She rolled her eyes and looked outside. "Thanks," she mumbled.

They were all silent for a moment, looking at the passing clouds.

"How did I end up with guys like you?" she suddenly asked. "I won't be able to eliminate or choose anyone." She paused and chuckled. "Did you know that I had to explain the expression ' _shipping someone with someone'_ to my grandmother, this morning?"

The boys burst out laughing and they chatted, trying to pry information out of the Princess, on who Andromeda liked best and shipped with her. She didn't spill anything.

Later, they finally arrived at Medford Airport and walked out of the plane.

"What now? We go directly to the Hospital?" Quin asked.

"No," Eliza said. "It's their lunchtime, and we need to eat, too. I think Henri reserved us a table in a little restaurant here."

The group headed to the limo waiting for them and once inside, Eliza put some ice on her ankle. It was long past due. And the drive to the restaurant would be fifteen minutes, just long enough for the ice to work its magic.

They arrived in a nice restaurant – which was probably the most expensive restaurant in Medford – and ate and chatted until it was time to head to the Hospital. They arrived there at around two o'clock when all the children had finished eating and they met with the Hospital Director, who was nicer and warmer than the one in the Angeles Hospital. When he saw Eliza was hurt, he quickly ordered a chair to be brought for her, but she kindly refused, stating that she had been seated for the past five hours.

They took the elevator and went all the way to the top floor. Eliza was surprised at how luminous, welcoming, and warm the whole building was. When they arrived at the top floor, practically all the children from that floor were waiting for the Royals. A little girl walked up to Eliza with a huge bouquet of pink roses.

"For you, Princess," the girl said.

"Thank you so much," Eliza said, taking the bouquet in one hand, and standing with one crutch. "They're beautiful!"

The little girl beamed and grinned as widely as she could.

"What's your name?"

"Sarah," the girl said.

"Well, Sarah, I'm very happy to meet you."

Sarah grinned and quickly ran back to the other group of kids, waiting.

"How did you get hurt?" a little boy asked. A nurse tried to make him be quiet.

"Oh, no, it's fine," Eliza said. She walked up to the group of kids, a nurse gave her a chair to sit on, and she talked from the middle of the hall, on her chair, to the children. "I fell down the stairs," she explained. "I was typing something on my phone, and boom. I missed a step."

"Were you hurt?" another kid asked.

"At first, no. But then I couldn't even stand on my own two feet." She chuckled. "I was lucky enough to have someone there with me to help me to the infirmary."

Sarah looked at the four Princes standing back a little. "One of them?"

Eliza looked up at her superhero squad – their t-shirts were still hidden under their shirts. "One of the others," she said. "But these four?" she grinned. "They're actually real-life super-heroes."

"What?" four children said at the same time. "How?"

Alek, Hans, Quin, and Xander walked up to the group and opened their shirts, revealing the super-hero t-shirts underneath.

"Awesome!" a little boy said. They ran up to the four guys and started asking them questions, like "can you fly?", "Do you really live in Wakanda?", "How strong are you?" and so on.

"Are you a super-hero, too?" a little girl asked to Eliza. "Or are you just the Princess."

Alek heard that question and listened for Eliza's answer.

"I'm not sure," Eliza said, lifting her striped t-shirt. "But I also have this costume…" she trailed off, a smile playing on her lips. "So you tell me."

The little girl saw the Wonder Woman logo on the Princess' t-shirt and her face lit up. "Guys!" she said. "She's Wonder Woman!"

"Uh, no," another girl said. "She's the Princess. She can't be both. Duh."

"Actually," Alek said, coming over. "She is both." He took out something from Xander's bag and placed it on Eliza's head: the Wonder Woman tiara. "Did you know that Diana Prince, is the daughter of a Queen name Hippolyta?"

The little girl shook her head.

"Wonder Woman is a super-hero and a Princess. So is Eliza. She is a Princess and a super-hero."

Eliza couldn't see Alek, he was behind her, but she could hear the smile and warmth in his voice. Something had changed since their date, she couldn't ignore it.

They chatted some more with the children, took pictures, hugged those who wanted or needed a hug, and then went down to the next floor. There, only half the children from the floor were waiting for them in the playroom. The others were either sleeping, in chemo treatment, or too tired to get out of bed. The five super-heroes played a while with the children in the playroom, and then went to see the others in their rooms. They finished that floor's visit in the chemo room, where several were having their treatment. Eliza made a round of hellos, but then sat somewhere to lift her foot, chatting with a couple nurses.

She observed the four guys interactive with the children.

Quin was surprisingly gentle, talking with some in hushed tones and playing with them on their iPads or phones, showing them tricks on this or that game.

Alek was like a big brother to all the kids he talked to, telling them how proud he was of them, and he told them how brave they were, and how he admired their strength.

Xander drew some funny sketches with some of the kids, and gave them the drawings. Some children drew things for him, and he kept those drawings preciously in his notebook.

Hans was the most surprising of all. All edgy and dark in his usual days, he was now a ray of sunshine, smiling broadly and illuminating the whole room. Eliza thought of the painting he had made for her and she remembered those yellow trees in the gray background. That was actually totally him. He was so gentle with the kids, it was like he was handling them like eggs, even though Eliza knew the children were tougher than even she was. Fighting against cancer took strength, patience, and courage. Some traits she didn't think she had strongly.

And once again, she had no idea how she was going to eliminate or choose any of these guys.

They continued their visit, until late in the afternoon, and then headed back to the airport and the airplane, where a light meal was waiting for them.

Seeing all those kids in the last stages of cancer and close to death had put a damper on the five super-heroes' mood. Eventually, Eliza dozed off, her head wobbling from side to side. Quin was snoring in his seat, Xander was playing on his phone, and Alek was sleeping as well on the couch.

So Hans too it upon himself to be Eliza's pillow for the remaining hour of the flight. He sat next to her and gently helped her head fall on his shoulder. He smiled and closed his eyes.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Queen Mother Andromeda Schreave, Palace Gardens, after dinner._**

The temperature was still nice, outside; the sky was clear, and a group of guys was relaxing outside in the garden, beers in their hands, pants rolled up to their knees, and suit jackets tossed to the side. It was an unusual group of Selected, and they had arrived in groups of twos or threes. Eliza was gone. And as the saying goes, _When the cat's away, the mice will play_.

It was clear, though, that some of the boys liked each other. Blind or not, you could see it. And some surprising pairs they were.

Andromeda stood by the window, debating if yes or no she should go join them. She decided to go, but first, she had to make a little detour to her rooms. There was something there she wanted to show them. A few minutes later – thanks to the now working elevator – she was walking down the steps to the gardens. The boys didn't hear or see her coming.

"Do you mind if I join you, Gentlemen?" she asked, trying to hide a smirk. "It's such a lovely evening to be wasting it inside."

The boys all stood at the arrival of the Queen mother.

"No, of course not," Kwasi said. "You're welcome to join us."

"Would you like me to get you a chair or something?" Caspian asked.

"Oh, yes, I'd very much like that. Thank you."

Caspian walked away and came back with a white wrought iron chair with a grey cushion on it. Andromeda sat on it, and the boys sat back on the grass one after the other, sipping their beer in silence. Clearly, they couldn't go on with their conversation in front of the Queen Mother. Playing _Who would you rather kiss-kill-marry among the Selected?_ was not very appropriate.

"Beer?" Tomlin proposed to the Queen Mother, thinking she would refuse. But it was just to fill in the silence.

"Oh, yes, please. I haven't had one of those in years." She took the bottle. "Could you open it for me?"

Tomlin was surprised, but he obliged, and gave the bottle back to the Queen Mother, who sipped it royally. Tomlin chuckled.

"What?" Andromeda said. "You've never seen a Queen drink a beer?"

"My grandmother wouldn't do that," Niko said.

"Neither would mine," Tomlin added.

"Yes, I know both of your grandmothers," Andromeda said. "And you're right, they wouldn't do this. But they weren't commoners before they married into royalty." She chuckled lightly, lost in the past for a moment. "You see, I was a Four when I participated in Jaxon's Selection. And I used to spend my evenings on the beach, singing songs, and drinking beer with my friends."

"Where were you from?" Raphael asked. "Before your Selection."

"Sonage. The Province south from Angeles. I spent my teenage years on the beach."

"That must have been hard, moving into the Palace when you were used to the beach and your freedom," Jericho said, knowing exactly how she felt.

"Yes, it was hard at first. But I loved Jaxon, and I didn't let anything come between us. Not even the ocean."

Jericho looked away. "I don't think I can do it," he said softly. "I always go to the ocean when I feel like it. Here, I haven't even been once."

Andromeda noticed Niko placing his hand on Jericho's arm, but she didn't say anything. It wasn't her place to do so.

"What's that?" Jinhai asked, pointing at what Andromeda held in her lap.

"Oh, this?" Andromeda said. "A photo album." She smirked. "I wanted to show you gentlemen some pictures."

The boys looked at each other, curious.

Haruhito, Kwasi, and CJ hadn't said anything yet since Andromeda joined them. But they were curious. The nine boys gathered around the Queen Mother as she showed them pictures of Eliza when she was a baby, a toddler, a little girl, a teenager, until just before she went to College. Some were official photos, others were on-the-spot. They laughed with Andromeda and asked questions about her life.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Eliza asked, wobbling with her crutches, the four boys in her wake, back from their trip.

"I was just showing them some pictures," Andromeda said, closing the album and standing up. "But I should go to bed, now."

"You didn't show them _the_ picture, did you?" she asked.

"Oh, that one? of course, I did!"

Eliza cringed. "Nooo. Why? that one's private…"

"Now I want to see it, too," Alek said, smirking.

"Very well," Andromeda said, sitting back down. She flipped through the pages and found the picture. It was a photo of Eliza when she was fifteen years old, with white vintage-y sunglasses, and braids spiking up from her head. It was a Pipi Longstockings costume for a Halloween party at her high school.

"Oh my goodness," Eliza said, facepalming. "I can't believe you still have this picture."

"Eliza, you look so cute!" Alek said.

The others agreed and laughed, and the went through all the pictures again, with Eliza and the four newcomers. But all in all, it was a good evening. Andromeda stayed with them until they went back inside, and she made mental notes about the guys…

* * *

 _ **Hi! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that you liked this little super-hero thing (I'm looking at you, Kay...). There are some aesthetics for this chapter, where you will see Eliza as Pipi Longstockings... yes.**_

 _ **Yes, Andromeda has her favorites and her opinions, but she's keeping them to herself, for now...**_

 _ **Thanks for pushing and encouraging me to write! funny how the first 2k words are always the hardest, and the** **n** **I** **can't stop anymore. lol.**_

 _ **see you soon in the next chapter, or on Discord ;)**_


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

On Thursday morning, the whole Palace was a frenzy. Henri tried to keep the boys in line – and again, it was like dealing with school kids. He was trying to convince them to wear nice suits, since most of them were now used to wearing t-shirts and jeans during the day when they had nothing else to do. And Henri was okay with it. _Just not today, please!_

It was Eliza who had managed to convince them to dress properly. "I need you guys to be extra perfect, today. You know as well as I do, that this Magazine issue could change the whole game." She paused. "So just play along, be nice, and don't screw anything up. Please?"

The boys had nodded and all went back to their rooms to change.

"I'm sorry about that," Henri said to Eliza. "I think I completely lost them. They're like kids, I mean…"

"I know." Eliza sighed. "But I don't think adding drama and eliminations will help. They don't have anything to lose, and no one to impress."

Henri sighed. "Yeah. Well, I still have to hold them together." He looked at Eliza's green dress. "You look beautiful, by the way."

"Thanks," she said. "But I'm afraid the crutches kind of destroy the whole Princess image thing."

Henri chuckled. "Do you really need them?"

"Yeah. I can only start putting a tiny weight on my foot today. But I'll put them down for pictures and all."

Henri nodded and got the whole Men's Parlor ready – with the help of some maids and footmen – for a whole magazine crew. He didn't know how many they would be.

Eliza walked out of the Parlor and saw a few guys coming back down, changed in crisp suits. "Thanks," she said, relieved. "It means a lot to me that you changed. I really need this to turn out okay."

"Don't worry, Milady," CJ said, smiling and taking Eliza's hand in his. He pressed his lips to her knuckles. "We've got your back."

Eliza chuckled. "I don't doubt it one second."

"Oh, here's the devil," Rafe said, looking past Eliza.

She turned around and saw Millie walk in, head high, a sly grin on her face.

"Hello, everyone," she said a bit too cheerfully. "What's all this frenzy?"

" _Illéa Weekly_ magazine," Eliza said.

"Oh right! I forgot it was today." She chuckled. "I'll go get ready." She walked past them and up the stairs. "Oh, by the way," she said. "I heard you fell down the stairs, Liz. I hope you're not hurt too much." She continued chuckling and disappeared around the corner.

"I don't really like the sound of that," Rance said. "She creeps me out."

Eliza frowns. "Something's not right. She's hiding something but I have no idea what." She sighed. "I just hope she's not-"

"Going to find dirt on us? Yeah me neither," Rafe said, sarcastically.

"I'm working on it," Linus said, coming over. "Sorry I overheard what she said and all." He sighed. "As long as she's busy today, I can do something."

"Busy? How?" Eliza said.

"I don't know. Just keep her out of her room," Linus said.

Rafe laughed. "What are you planning genius? Putting bugs in her room? Big hairy plastic spiders on her pillow? That could be fun."

Linus rolled his eyes and walked away. "Just keep her busy." He paused. "But the spider's a good idea."

Other guys came down the stairs and joined the group until almost all the selected were there with Eliza. They chatted a bit, waiting for the _Illéan Weekly_ crew to arrive. At some point, Millie came down the stairs too, her head high, in a black tulle dress. She walked past them, ignoring the group and headed who-knows-where.

"Okay, guys," Eliza said once her sister was gone. "I have a mission for you, today."

"Behaving properly?" Tom asked, joking.

"That too," Eliza said. "But the most important thing today is to keep Millie out of her room. Keep her around, try to get close to her. I don't know. I give you _carte blanche_ , just don't piss her off too hard, or you'll probably pay the consequences of her wrath."

Rafe laughed. "Yes, please. I'm gonna tear this woman apart."

"Subtle," Rama said, rolling his eyes.

"You got a problem, Aladdin?"

Rama raised an eyebrow. "Fight me, Rafe."

Rafe chuckled. "Nah. I'm not fighting a tree hugger. Too soft." He turned to the others. "So are you ready to wreak _subtle_ havoc?" he asked, using that word sarcastically.

"Rafe," Eliza said. "Rama's right. You guys have to be subtle. She'll see right through you."

"Yeah, I know. the She-Devil can see through your soul and all. She knows your darkest secrets," he said dramatically.

"Shut up man," Caspian said. "This is serious." He was thinking about the robots-drones.

"Whatever."

 **-x-x-x-**

At nine thirty sharp, the whole _Illéan Weekly_ crew drove into the Palace courtyard, drawing tire lines in the gravel.

Ruby was waiting for the team at the top of the stone stairs and literally couldn't stay in place. This was going to be so fun, and she couldn't wait to meet Jade Reese! She had been so friendly and enthusiastic on the phone. And this could actually help with the image of Eliza _and_ the Selection. Maybe if girls – and guys? – could see how handsome and amazing these suitors were, it would make everything easier.

When Jade Reese, the Editor of the Magazine, walked out of the car, she smiled wildly at Ruby, who joined her down the steps.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you in person, Miss Wright!" Jade Reese said.

"Oh, please, just call me Ruby," she replied, grinning. "Come! I think everything's ready!"

The two women walked up the stairs, and walked into the Entrance Hall. They were surprised to see an unofficial welcome party huddled there, talking in hushed tones.

Eliza turned around, her large group of suitors behind her. It was quite a sight. Jade Reese was used to meeting celebrities for her magazine, but this was something else. She curtsied low to the princess and the princes behind her.

"Your Highnesses," she said.

"Mrs. Reese," Eliza said. "It's an honor to meet you."

"It's Miss, Your Highness," she said with a smile. Maybe if she mentioned she was single, one of the suitors would notice her? Nah. "And the honor is mine," she said, her voice almost cracking she was so nervous.

Just then, the whole team of photographers, makeup artists, stage designers, and writers came in through the door, carrying all their stuff with the help of footmen.

"Uh, sorry, where do we put this?" someone asked, gaining everyone's attention.

"Right here," Henri said, coming out from the Men's Parlor, having just finished pushing all the furniture to the sides. "The room is ready."

"Thanks," the person replied. He followed Henri in the Men's Parlor and the rest of the crew followed.

"Okay, so where do we start?" Ruby asked, excited.

"Do you have another room we could use, while they prepare the studio?" Jade Reese asked.

"Oh, sure. We can use the Women's Room," Ruby said.

Eliza's eyes widened. The Women's Room? With twenty-two guys? Whatever. The group of guys and Eliza followed the precious stones in the said room. It was quite different from the Men's parlor, with mostly couches, settees, rows of books and magazines, and a table laid with tea and biscuits. The boys stayed standing, not wanting to intrude in this feminine sanctuary.

All but Rafe, Tomlin, and Haruhito who sat on couches.

Jade and Ruby sat on another one, and even Eliza stayed standing.

"Don't you want to sit down?" Raphael asked her discreetly.

"I'm fine, thanks," she replied, offering him a smile.

"Okay, gentlemen," Jade said. "First of all, I just want to let you know that I'm super excited to meet you and to spend this day with you." She paused, waiting for a reaction, but none came. So she continued. "Our photographers will be taking you by groups of two or three and take some studio pictures to put with your interviews, which I will personally get to do." She smiled. "So it would be really nice if you could all kind of stick around and not stray too far, so we can call you when it's your turn. Is that okay? Do you have questions?"

They nodded their understanding.

"How long is it gonna take?" Rafe asked.

"The interview?" Jade said.

"And the pictures?"

"It depends on how much you want to share, and if you're good in the studio," she said tactfully. "Now," she looked at her list, "I'm going to send you in alphabetical order. Prince Adrien and Prince Aleksander will go in first, while I interview Princess Elisabeth."

Adrien and Alek nodded and obediently headed to the Men's Parlor.

While Jade Reese asked Eliza some questions for her interview and then to describe her day, the photographs had lots of trouble taking good pictures of the Selected. They had no idea how to be in front of a camera. Most of them usually tried to avoid cameras. But here? It was a nightmare. Two-thirds of the pictures done in the studio were a mess. The only ones good enough to use from the studio were Xander's, Caspian's, Haruhito's, Jinhai's, Kwasi's, Latreall's, Otávio's, Sebastian's, and Tom's. The others had to be taken again, outside. They went for a walk with the Princes, and it took all day to have good pictures of all the guys, when it should have taken only a couple of hours. They hadn't thought the Princes would be camera-shy this much.

At least Eliza and Millie were somewhat used to it. Especially Millie.

Around lunch, everyone took a break and headed to the gardens where a cold buffet was prepared for them. The guys sat in groups either on blankets on the ground or on chairs and benches around the gardens.

Jade Reese took advantage of having everyone in the same place to go from group to group and ask a few questions, just to get a general feeling of the Selection and the suitors.

The editor walked towards a group of guys sitting at a table. "May I join you, Gentlemen?"

"Sure," Raphael said, scooting over to Cian to make some room.

"What's it like living with the rest of the Selected?" Jade asked, taking a bite in an amuse-bouche.

Kwasi chuckled. "Imagine living with actual civilized people."

"… okay?" Jade said.

"Now throw that out of the window."

At those words, Otávio, Alek, Cian, and Raphael burst out laughing.

"True," Raphael said. "It's like they live without rules."

"Raphael," Alek said. "Rules are made to be broken."

"No, they were made to be followed. Nothing is meant to be broken."

"Piñatas," Otávio said.

"Uh, glow sticks," Cian added.

"Karate boards", Alek said.

"Spaghetti when you have a small pot," Kwasi added.

Everyone looked at Kwasi as if he was crazy.

"No, you do not do that. Don't tell that to CJ," Cian said. "It might start another war."

"And rules," Raphael said again.

It took all of Jade Reese's will not to laugh and spit out her lemonade. After a few more minutes of chatting with them, she decided to go find another group to question.

She went for a group sitting on a blanket in the shade eating sandwiches. "Hi, can I join you?"

Nikolai looked up from his position on the ground, something he wasn't used too, being always the tallest in the room.

"Sure," Jericho said with a grin.

Jade sat with her own sandwich and looked at the four boys. The two on her left were really a surprise to be sitting together. "I don't want to be rude, but, aren't your two countries at war?" she asked.

Haruhito and Jinhai looked at each other. Haruhito ignored the question, while Jinhai chuckled. He sipped his milk through a striped straw from a bottle. "Yeah, well. We're not our countries, to be honest," he said.

"Oh," Jade said. "But you're representing your country in the Selection, aren't you?"

"In a way, yes," Jinhai said. "But I'm here for myself."

"Oh, so you're here to marry the Princess?"

Jinhai looked at the three boys around him. "We are, yes."

Nikolai coughed, choking on his lemonade. "Sure, we are," he said between coughs.

Jade turned to Jericho and Nikolai. "You're cousins, right? Or something like that?"

"Yeah, something like that," Nikolai said, dismissively.

"Actually, my sister married his cousin. So we don't really have any direct family ties. But it was nice seeing a familiar face, when I came here."

Jade nodded. "You knew other suitors?"

Nikolai snorted _elegantly_. "If you look at all the family trees, it's probably just one big family. We're all somehow related to each other. Either by marriage or blood."

"With everyone?" Jade asked, surprised.

"No, not everyone," Jericho said. "But we can probably put three-quarters of the selected in the same family tree.

Jade laughed. "So you're telling me that all the monarchies are somehow related? One big family ruling the world?"

"No…" Jericho said, slowly. "Maybe not that extreme…"

Jinhai raised an eyebrow and sipped his milk. "She's right, though. I don't think I'm part of that family tree, though."

Haruhito shrugged. "Good. Because that would be awkward."

"Awkward for what?" Jade asked.

"Spoiler," Haruhito replied, and the three other boys burst out laughing.

"Sorry, that's kind of an inside joke," Jinhai said when he saw Jade's confused face.

Jade nodded and excused herself to go talk to another group. But when she stood, she noticed a large group of suitors around Princess Emilia, and Jade wondered about it. She walked closer and listened to what was going on.

"Your Royal Highness," Rafe said to Millie, bowing low. "I made this friendship bracelet for you." He gave her a small braided South African bracelet.

Millie eyed him cautiously. What the hell were they doing? "You know, I'm not really a friendship bracelet person…"

"Oh well," Rafe said, feigning to be sad. "You don't have to wear it-"

"No, I'll wear it," she said, taking the cotton bracelet between her fingers.

"Really?" Rafe said, hopeful. "Aw, that means a lot to me!" He tied it on the Princess' wrist with a grin.

"Princess Millie- I can call you Millie, right?" Tomlin said. "Would you like some lemonade? I was about to get some for myself."

"Do you have anything stronger?"

Tomlin looked at the table. "Milk? Iced tea? Nope."

"Oh yeah, right," Millie said. "No alcohol if Eliza's around." She chuckled. "Fine, just some lemonade."

Tomlin nodded and came back with a whole tray of lemonade glasses. Just when he was coming over the group, Quin put his foot forward, making the English Earl trip and splash Millie with all the lemonade glasses.

"Oh my God!" Jade Reese said, coming over. "Are you alright, Your Highness?" Jade was a good actress. Because inside, she was bursting of laughter. It took all her will not to laugh.

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry," Tomlin said, trying to wipe off the sticky lemonade from Millie's black tulle dress. "Here, let me help you."

"Get your hands off me," she hissed. "You did this on purpose."

"No, I swear," he said. "I tripped on a foot and I should've been looking where I was walking but I was carrying this huge tray and-"

"Shut up," she said very calmly. "I wear heels bigger than your penis."

Tomlin quickly shut his mouth, and stood still. "Yes, Ma'am. I mean no. I mean-"

"Just. Shh," Quin said. "You're making this worse," he whispered.

"I am?"

"Oh yes, you are," Millie said. "And I swear to you that you'll soon be on a flight back to New England, you idiot."

"Tomlin, she just insulted you! Do something!" Sebastian said, on the verge of laughing.

Tomlin couldn't hold in his laugh any longer. He burst out and doubled over, hitting his knees with his hands. "Oh, Millie. You have no idea…" He wiped some laugh tears and stood straight. Xander put his phone back into his pocket, as if nothing happened. He smirked and nodded to Tomlin and Rafe.

Millie stomped away, as dignified as she could be.

"It's in the can," Xander said tapping his pocket.

"Good," Rafe said. "Since she's out to get us, we might as well pay her back in her own coin."

Linus came out down the stone steps leading to the garden. He joined the group of boys. "Thanks for keeping her busy. I'm done."

"Good timing," Rafe said. She just went to her room to change. There was a little… accident."

Linus raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Xander took his phone out and showed the video to Linus. "Do you think we should post it on YouTube?"

Linus chuckled when he saw the whole exchange on the small screen. "Not just yet," he said. "But keep that very preciously. It could come in handy."

"What do you have in mind, soldier?" Rafe asked.

"Nothing to concern yourselves with. Just-" he paused, thinking how to phrase this. "I just hope you don't have anything too consequential that could be dug up." That said, he walked away to stand on the side, surveying the gardens.

At some point, lunch break was over, and everyone went back inside to continue the interviews and photoshoot. All-in-all, it was a rather good experience for the Illéan Weekly Crew. Hanging out with so many royals at the same time was not at all how they had expected. What Kwasi had said earlier, about how it was to live with the Selected, Jade Reese experienced it during the day. She had expected everyone to be stiff, uptight, and well mannered. But they were not. She even noticed Henri Johnson on the side, face-palming most of the time, and being annoyed by all these _school boys_.

-x-x-x-

 ** _Friday afternoon, somewhere on the Palace grounds._**

Eliza's foot was now feeling a little better. She didn't need her crutches anymore, but she still had a tiny limp. It would leave in a couple days, eventually.

When she had selected the French prince for her afternoon date, that morning, there was one thing she wanted to do with him. "Would you mind if we did some archery? I remember you telling me you liked doing that?"

"Sure," he said. "It'd be a pleasure."

Now, they were both heading to the shooting range, chatting about the previous day. But Caspian still needed to find a way to talk to Eliza about the robots and all. What if she eliminated him because of it? It would wreak havoc. Or maybe not, if she knew how to handle the news. _Maybe at the end of the date_ , he thought. _If I can find an opportunity_.

Once they arrived at the place, Eliza went inside the little cabin to look for the bows and arrows. She came out with several bows.

"I didn't know which kind you were used to."

Caspian chuckled. "Longbow, most of the time. They're less accurate, and so hitting the bullseye demands more concentration and all. And it's a greater achievement."

"I see," she said, smirking. "Which one do you suggest for me? I haven't done this in ages."

Caspian looked through the bows Eliza had brought outside. "Hmm, let's see. I think you should take the same as mine, a longbow. It's the classic one."

"Okay," she said, taking the one Caspian was handing her. Then he showed her the leather protections to wear on her arm.

"Trust me, you want to wear one. I didn't wear one _once_ , and when the string whipped my arm, I had an oval blue bruise for a whole week." He laughed. "Very neat, but painful. I couldn't bend my arm for several days."

Eliza laughed. "Hm. I'm wearing one, then." She let Caspian tie it on her arm, and then he proceeded to show her how to stand, how to hold the bow, how to pull the string, and so on. It was tedious theory, but it was useful for the actual shooting. She listened carefully, doing what he told her to do. He gently corrected her mistakes, positioning her elbow this way and her chin that way. He made her practice pulling on the string several times, and when he deemed her ready to shoot her first arrow, he showed her how to do it.

He shot three arrows himself. All three arrows landed on the target. The first one on the outer rim, the second closer to the center, and the last one almost hit the bullseye.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" she asked, genuinely impressed.

He chuckled. "Lots of practice. Though I haven't done it in a month. Ever since I came here, actually."

"Why not?" she laughed. "Well, now that you knew where everything is, feel free to come practice!"

"Thanks. Now your turn." He handed her three arrows. "Don't worry if you don't hit the target on the first try. You need to find your bearings and get to know the bow _with_ the arrow."

Eliza nodded and secured the first arrow on the string, making it rest on her hand. She pulled the string, focused on the target, breathed in, and let the arrow go when she breathed out, just as Caspian had told her to do.

The arrow flew… and landed way past the target, in the grass.

Eliza didn't flinch or anything. She simply prepared the second arrow and focused on the target again. This time, it also flew past the target, but much closer.

Caspian smiled. " _La prochaine c'est la bonne_ ," he said, using a French expression.

Eliza chuckled while she prepared the third one. " _J'espère_." She and Caspian shared a knowing glance. It was nice to hear and speak some French. She focused on her bow, the arrow, her breathing.

" _Let it fly, Miss Everdeen_ ," he said, in a grave voice.

She chuckled, but quickly composed herself. When she was ready, she let the arrow fly towards the target, and it hit it! Not in the center, but at least it was on the target.

"Yes! See? I told you," Caspian said. He went to the target to retrieve the six arrows – two of which were somewhere in the grass a little further and came back. "Here, try again." He gave her an arrow and she tried again. Out of the next six arrows she shot, only two went flying way past the target. She claimed it was the wind, and both laughed.

Caspian also shot six arrows, after that, and only two didn't make it to the bullseyes, but still on the target.

They practiced all afternoon, until Eliza's phone rang in her pocket.

"Ugh, not already," she said, looking at the time. "I have to go get ready for the Report." She sighed. If she could stay here with Caspian – which she remembered her grandmother liked – and not go to the Report, she would. But duty called, and both put back the archery stuff in the cabin and headed for the Palace.

Caspian couldn't shake off the thought that he needed to talk to her about the robots. But how broach the subject? _Hey, guess what. Those robots you saw on TV the other day? Yeah, I designed them._ No. He couldn't just say that. He would keep that to himself. And unless Tom said something, which he doubted he would, no one could know. And he doubted Millie could find out something like that. It was much too far-fetched for the Princess to find this out.

They chatted all the way back, an Eliza mentioned she wanted to do more archery. She joked that if she imagined Millie's face on the target, she would maybe be able to hit the target more often. Caspian laughed, and he said that if he could put Chloé, his ex-girlfriend and sister-in-law, on the target, he would never miss the bullseye.

"That does not seem like an uncomplicated story," Eliza said.

"No, it's quite simple, actually," he said. "She dumped me for my brother, because he was going to be King."

"Oh. Ouch."

"Yeah." He shrugged. "But let's not talk about that, shall we?"

"Let's," she said, chuckling. But in Eliza's mind, she was already on the Report stage, mentally trying not to make a mess of herself.

* * *

 _ **Hey, so here's the mong awaited**_ Illéa Weekly _ **chapter. It didn't quite turn out how I had expected, but I had loads of fun writing it. thanks for the " incorrect quotes" ideas on Discord, I may have taken some ideas from there^^ **(check the Art section on Pinterest to see them!) **.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed! And I realized I have this posting pattern: Wednesday and weekend. I hope I can hold up with this rhythm ^^**_

 _ **Thanks for reviewing** (this is soon going to be the story with the most reviews lol) **, reading, following, and for your patience. See you soon for the next chapter! :D**_


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Long story short, the Report was a disaster.

It all started rather well, with a recap of the week's dates and activities: the riding and dinner date with Alek, followed by the movie date with Henryk, the hospital visits in Likely, and ended with the last date with Caspian. There was no mention of the Illéa Weekly magazine, since it was supposed to be a surprise when it came out.

Eliza really thought that she was going to come out unscathed. But destiny had decided otherwise. Call it destiny, bad luck, or even fate. One thing was sure, _it_ didn't like Eliza right now.

After that, Ruby had interviewed some of the guys, asked them some harmless questions, and joked a bit with them. She was less nervous around them, now, and it made the Report much easier.

Then Her Royal Highness Princess Emilia Margaret Jane Schreave decided it was time for some drama. She was a good actress. She played the victim pretty well, making Eliza the bad guy, with her squad of bad guy suitors backing her up.

She just starting crying, at first, trying to hide her tears. Ruby noticed from the corner of her gaze. It didn't bother her at first, and she continued with her program.

Then Millie just let out a huge sob and tried to cover it with her hand, muffling the sound.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Elinor whispered, oblivious to her daughter's schemes.

She shook her head, unable to speak.

By this point, everyone turned around to look at her. The camera zoomed on her, so Ruby had no other choice but to follow the music. And follow the orders of the stage director. She was just the Host.

"Princess, are you okay?" Ruby asked cautiously, coming over. The cameras followed. And that was her first mistake, obeying to the orders in her earphone. Giving space to Millie on a Selection Report was the worst one could do.

"I'm fine," The Princess replied, elegantly wiping a tear streaming down her cheek.

While no one was watching, Xander stood and walked to the tech guys. He had some business to take care of. If Millie was making a scene, he would show the world who she really was. And he had proof in his pocket.

"You're not, obviously," Ruby said. "What's wrong?"

Millie shrugged. "It's just," she sniffled, "I'm watching all these dates, the recap and all, and all the people see is perfect suitors, and a perfect Princess…" she trailed off.

Ruby wanted to run away, cut the Report short, and stop everything now. But it was too late. Especially when the Queen inquired on Millie's statement.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"Everyone's so mean to me. They make fun of me, and turn everything into something ridiculous."

Ruby frowned. "What are you talking about?" Clearly, she had missed the lemonade scene the previous day.

A huge sob came out of Millie, and she muffled it. "I'm sorry, I'm just-"

"It's okay, sweetheart," Elinor said, patting her daughter's back.

 _"Invite the Princess on the settee with you,"_ the stage director said in Ruby's earphone. But she shook her head. There was no way she was letting this go out of hand. Millie had her script, she didn't. And she'd rather it be the other way around.

But Millie just poured out her tea, even without Ruby inviting her to.

"They're just making fun of me and they're rude! You'd think Princes would have some manners? But no!" she stopped, breathing. "I even found a plastic spider in my bed!" this time she really started crying. She truly hated spiders. "I didn't do anything to them. I'm just trying to get to know them because…" – sobs – "one of them is going to be my brother-in-law, you know, and" – another sob – "They don't even like me!"

Just then, a footage appeared on the big screen, one of the cameras showed it live to the rest of the country.

 _Tomlin tripped on something and a dozen lemonade glasses fell on the Princess._

 _"Oh, no, I'm so sorry," Tomlin said, trying to wipe off the sticky lemonade from Millie's black tulle dress. "Here, let me help you."_

 _"Get your hands off me," she hissed. "You did this on purpose."_

 _"No, I swear," he said, terror on his face. "I tripped on a foot and I should've been looking where I was walking but I was carrying this huge tray and-"_

 _"Shut up," she said very calmly. "I wear heels bigger than your penis."_

 _Tomlin quickly shut his mouth, and stood still._

The footage stopped there, Millie's words echoing in the Report Room. Everyone was frozen into place.

"That's taken totally out of context!" she yelled, getting to her feet. "Who did that!"

Ruby quickly taking control over the situation walked to the front of the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, stay tuned for more information on the Selection, and keep your eyes open in your favorite stores! We may have a surprise coming in for you, pretty soon!" She winked, and the cameras went off. The tech guys sent in the credits and when Ruby turned around, it was chaos.

Xander was quietly coming back to the group of Selected, his hands in his pockets, keeping his phone safe.

"You!" Millie said, pointing at Xander. "What did you do?!" she was hysterical.

"Nothing," he said, holding up his hands in defense.

"Millie, calm down," Eliza said, limping towards her sister. "What is wrong with you?"

"Everything! You're all against me!"

"We're not against you," Eliza said. " _You_ are against _them_."

Millie snorted. "You know what? You don't deserve any of this. You don't deserve the Crown, you don't deserve to be Queen. You don't even deserve-"

"That's enough!" Oliver bellowed, coming in between his two girls. "In my office. Now," he said, very calmy.

The two sisters glared at each other and followed their father in his office like two school girls about to get their worst lecture of their life. That was probably true, though. Millie's heels were clicking hard on the marble floors, her rage echoing through the halls. Eliza limped, following them. She didn't dare look over her shoulder. She was too ashamed to cross anyone's gaze. Whatever happened in this Selection, it always seemed to fall back on her shoulders. When would it be too heavy and make her collapse? She wasn't sure.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _King Oliver's office._**

The king sat behind his desk in silence, clearing his papers. He filled himself two fingers of whiskey, and lit a cigar. The princesses just stood there, silent. Both knew they had gone too far.

For several minutes, King Oliver didn't say anything. The girls fidgeted on their feet and Eliza's ankle was throbbing from staying too long in the same standing position. But she didn't say anything. She just put all the weight on her good leg.

"What the hell is going on?" he finally asked, his voice as calm as just before a storm.

Both sisters looked at each other, then at the floor.

Since no one was answering, the King focused his question on someone. "Elisabeth. What is going on?"

She swallowed before talking. "To be honest, I'm not really sure."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You two have been acting like ten-year-olds for the past few weeks. Why?"

Eliza winced as she accidentally put weight on her bad foot. "I'm just trying to do my Selection, just like you _told_ me to, but Millie has been trying to sabotage it from the start."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you say that?"

Eliza kept silent. How could she say anything without sounding like a ten-year-old tattletale?

Oliver continued staring at his daughter. "Elisabeth?" he prompted.

"You remember Harrison- or Spencer?" she finally said.

"Yes."

"That was Millie." She paused, but Millie didn't say anything.

"So?" he said.

"So she's digging up stuff on the suitors!"

"If that's true, then she's actually doing you a favor, Elisabeth."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "No, because there won't be even one left."

Millie laughed. "You really think I'm that horrible? I'm not a monster, Liz."

Eliza glared at her sister, but didn't say anything.

"Emilia, thank you. You are dismissed," Oliver said, puffing on his cigar.

Millie smirked and walked away, closing the door behind her. Oliver poured another glass for Eliza. "I'll deal with her later. Sit down," he said, handing her a glass.

"I'm not allowed to drink," she said, bitter.

"You are in here. Your mother won't know." He sat back in his leather chair. He sighed. "Tell me what's really happening," he said.

"I have no idea," Eliza said. "She's just being weird, hiding stuff, and all. That video you saw? It was cut just before she said something like _I'm going to have you fly back to England._ Or something." He sighed. "And you know better than me that she wants the Crown and that mother is backing her up."

He suddenly looked up at her. "How do you know that?"

"I, uh, the walls are not so thick, and someone heard you and mother argue."

"Hmph," he said, taking a sip from the amber alcohol. "Well it's true. Your sister wants it."

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked.

Oliver looked at his daughter above his glass' rim. "Nothing. The Crown is yours. And it'll fit you better than her." He paused. "Do you know why I let you go to College and not Emilia?"

"No?"

"Because I knew you would use all the knowledge well, once you were Queen. But not only your Masters' subjects," he said lifting a finger. "You now know how the real world works. You've seen it for yourself. Hell, you even lived it."

She nodded.

"Emilia wouldn't have done the same thing. She would have stepped on everyone, reminding all the people she met who she was. You didn't."

"How'd you know? Linus was updating you on my College life?"

He shook his head, smiling. "No. Your teachers, mostly."

She chuckled. "Seriously? You asked my teachers to spy on me?"

"Not spying, no. Just tell me how you were doing. Since you always said you were fine and all. I just needed to be sure. And you were more than fine."

Eliza smiled, and her belly grumbled. "Should we go to dinner?"

"Nah," he said, putting his cigar down. He pressed on the intercom button, and his private secretary came in.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Have two dinners sent here."

"Right away, Your Majesty."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Hiding away?"

"No. I'm having a dinner date with my daughter. We haven't done that in way too long." He sipped his whiskey, and Eliza did, too.

"Listen," he said once the trays had been brought in and they had both started on their dinner. "I know Emilia wants to sabotage the Selection and undermine you. And she has Elinor's backup. But you have mine. And whatever she finds or publishes about the suitor or you, I will give a statement and decline. Unless it's something really serious and true. But I promise you I will personally back you up."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm serious." He offered her a smile. "Besides. You're my Heir, and it's my responsibility to guide you and no one else to the throne." He took her hand from across the table and squeezed it tightly. "Today a Princess, one day a Queen, but forever my girl."

The Princess chuckled. "Aw, thanks dad."

"Ah, I love when you call me _dad_ , and not _father_." He laughed. "You always call your mother _mother._ "

"I do. Because she didn't really earn the right to be called _mom_." Both laughed and continued their dinner in companionable chatter and lightheartedness.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Weekend Shenanigans..._**

Saturday morning, Eliza decided to sleep in. She hadn't seen the boys since the Report, and frankly, she was in no hurry to do so. She didn't want to have to answer to curious questions about why she wasn't at dinner. _Uh, I was having a date night with my dad? w_ as not the best answer, even if it was true. So she ordered her breakfast to her room and ate in companionable silence with Mrs. Pebbles.

"I should rename you Mistress Pebbles, now that you belong to the Royal family, right?" she said to her cat, petting her soft grey fur. Mistress Pebbles meowed to the princess and cuddled against her.

There was a knock on the door, but instead of going to open the door, she just called out. "Come in!"

Through her door came in Linus, a grave look on his face, and a folder in his hands.

"What's going on?" she asked, seeing his serious composure.

"Good morning," he said, sitting down on the opposite couch. "Remember that footage of Millie last night?"

"Yeah?"

"Someone leaked the whole thing on YouTube."

"I don't even know what the whole thing was, Linus."

He took out his phone from his pocket, typed in a few words and handed it to her. She looked at the whole video, from the moment Tomlin came with the lemonade tray and tripped, to the moment where Millie threatened him.

Eliza chuckled. "You have to admit it was funny."

"Yes," he said. "But it was not his to do. Did you know that they created a new YouTube channel for the Selection? They're posting stuff from the Palace."

"So what? As long as it's not harmful. Latreall posted the Marble track."

"Yeah. That was fine. But not this. It's clearly against your sister, and it already has millions of views."

"Why don't you just take it down? You probably know who created it, right?"

"Yes." He paused. "But taking down the video wouldn't be of any use. It's everywhere. Facebook, Twitter. Everywhere."

Eliza laughed. "Serves her well, to be honest."

"Maybe, but it's illegal." He sighed. "By coming here, there agreed to the terms of the contract. You know, this thing you never read because it's way too long, but you still click _I agree to the terms and conditions_?"

Eliza nodded but frowned. "There was a contract for the suitors?"

"Yes. And by posting something putting one of the Schreaves in this kind of position was against the rules." He paused. "It's serious misconduct, especially when I told him not to do it. And he did it. Twice. First on the Report, then on YouTube."

Eliza wasn't hungry anymore and left her half-eaten cinnamon roll on the dish. "I understand. Who was it?" she asked, hoping it wasn't some of her favorite guys – because yes, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she had favorite suitors, in the bunch.

Linus handed her the folder. It was the boy's file, with the signed contracts among other things. Eliza nodded. "I'll take care of this today, I promise." She stood and went to the window, where a bunch of guys had already taken the pool by storm.

Linus joined her by the window. "I'm sorry," he said.

"No you're not," she replied bitterly. "The more who are gone, the better chance you have, right?"

He sighed. "No. Look. I'm sorry I even tried to do anything. It was not my place." He paused, looking for the right words. "I just want you to be happy and if I can help you find the one for you, then I'll do it. I'm keeping an eye on Millie, though. You never know."

Eliza chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, well. I have to go deal with this, I'm afraid." She took a deep breath and headed for her walk-in closet, because she was still in her pajamas. It was Saturday, so she didn't care for a skirt. She put on a pair of charcoal gray ankle-length capri pants with a white sleeveless top, and a beige blazer. She paired all that with beige flats and quickly made a messy bun on the crown of her head with sunglasses, and headed outside, bracing herself for the task ahead of her.

When she stepped outside, all the boys turned their head and looked at her.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she said. She looked at the group of boys, and sure enough, the one she was looking for was in the pool. _How surprising. Of course, he would be there._ She walked to the edge of the pool and crouched to be closer to him.

"Xander, can we talk for a moment?"

"Sure," he said with a wide grin.

"Over there," she motioned with her thumb. She walked there, and waited for him.

"What's up?" he said, finally coming over and drying his hair with a towel. She couldn't look at his abs or she would come back on her decision. But as much as she hated to admit it, Linus was right. He had violated his contract.

Eliza sat on a chair and invited Xander to do the same, across from her, with the table in between them. "I know this is maybe too early in the day to talk about this, but I was going over some stuff this morning" – _You're stalling Eliza. Get to the point. –_ "and I noticed Greece and Illéa don't have any trade agreement or alliance."

"That's true…" Xander said, confused on the start of the conversation.

"And I know you're siding with Mongolia in the war."

"Yes." He frowned. "Why?"

She sighed. She needed to get to the point. "Xander. What you did – filming that video, showing it on the Report and posting in on YouTube – was against your contract rules." _There she said it. Almost._

He raised an eyebrow. "Contract?"

She opened the folder and handed him the signed paper across the table, pointing to the specific line of the contact he had violated. He read it.

"Oh. I totally forgot about this contract."

"Yeah, well too bad." She sighed. "And as much as I hate doing this, I'm going to have to let you go."

"What?" he put the paper down. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Look. I can't afford to keep someone who disrespects my family. It may have been funny and Millie may have deserved it, but it was the wrong to do so."

Xander crossed his arms over his muscled chest, flexing his arms in annoyance. "Then why did you talk about trade agreements and alliances?"

"Because I want to do something about it before you leave."

He raised an eyebrow. "How? Here?"

"No. Once you're back home, I promise to get in touch with you and your father, the King, and we'll figure something out."

Xander nodded. "Okay." He sighed. "When do I leave?"

Eliza shrugged. "I guess we can arrange something today if you want."

He nodded. "Let me just say goodbye, first, to the guys." He stood and headed to the pool. Some of the boys were curious. He had followed Eliza with a grin, and was now coming back with a frown.

"What happened?" Rama asked.

"I'm out."

"What? Why?" the Indian prince asked.

"Damnit," Sebastian said. "The video?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah, I totally forgot about the contract we signed."

"We signed a contract?" Adrien asked.

"Yes," Rance said. "I told you not to post that video."

"Yeah, well I did it. And now it's all over the internet." He sighed. "Not really helping with Eliza's image, right?"

"There's no mention of Eliza in the vid," Adrien said. "It was all Millie."

"When are you leaving?" Rama asked.

"Sometime today. I don't think I want to linger, you know?" He looked at the Indian prince, trying to convey a message. Something like _I don't want to linger here but I want to stay with you_.

Rama nodded and took his phone. "You mind if we take a picture before you leave?"

Xander nodded and Rama also invited Adrien, Seb and Rance on the selfie. "I'll send it to you," he said to Xander.

Xander went to say goodbye to some others, and then headed back inside, accompanied by Rama, who was going to help him pack, and stay a bit longer with him.

Eliza just sat there, in the sun, her sunglasses hiding her face. She was lost in thought and didn't hear Raphael coming over, sitting where Xander had sat moments ago.

"Everything okay?"

She jumped, startled. "Yeah." She sighed. "I hate doing this."

He took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly. "But it's part of the game, so to speak."

"I know. Even though it's not really a game for me."

"Yeah. Sorry. I just literally translated that from a French expression you probably know. _Ce sont les règles du jeu._ "

Eliza chuckled. "You can say that again. _Ce sont les règles du jeu._ "

They stayed like that a moment, hand in hand, watching the others as the mood dropped pretty low. They knew whatever they did, they could do something wrong and go home.

* * *

 _ **Hi, so yeah. Not my best chapter, but oh well. Second elimination... I hate doing this, but like Raphael said, it's part of the game. Check the Aesthetic Board.**_

 _ **I just wanted to thank**_ La Rosa _ **for** Xander **, it was fun bringing him to life and writing him! :D**_

 _ **let me know what you thought and I'll see you soon for the next chapter!**_


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Each morning for the rest of the week, the suitors would be preparing the Charity event for Eliza's birthday. Plus maybe something extra, but that was a secret. _Shhhh._ Eliza knocked on the Men's Parlor's door and was admitted by Rafe himself, who opened the door her.

"Good morning, Milady," he said kissing her hand. There was no sarcasm behind his words, and Eliza found it rather cute, coming from the South African prince.

"Good morning," she replied, smiling. Her limp was barely visible, now and she walked regally to the front of the room. She noticed they were all working on something or another in groups. Henri nodded at her and got the black box out.

"So, I'm here for the next date," she said. She slipped her hand in the opening on the top of the box and got out a name. "Jericho."

The Oceanian prince smiled. "Afternoon, if you don't mind."

"Perfect," she said.

"Oh, my God, you guys have to see this," Kwasi said, cutting in. He was watching something on his tablet. "Turn the TV on," he said. "The News."

Henri was the first to react and turned on the TV, looking for the news channel.

" _…ongasian War is in full force, now, and the Robots are breaking havoc in Mongolia. One of our reliable sources claimed that the Robot designs were made by a French Engineer, but we still don't know who it is. One thing is sure, France is backing up New Asia. But Mongolian allies? Where are you?"_

Images of the devastated war front filled the large screen, and everyone was silent. Jinhai couldn't watch this anymore. He stormed out of the room before Henri turned it off and composed his sister's number. He was relieved to hear Lihau's voice, but he was speaking in Mongolian, very fast.

Haruhito followed him outside and waited for him to finish his call. When Jinhai was finished, he stayed outside, looking in the distance.

"That was your sister?" Haruhito asked, walking up next to him. Jinhai nodded. "Is she okay?" Again, Jinhai nodded. "Look, I'm sorry. I had no idea-"

"It's not your fault," Jinhai cut him.

They were silent for a moment until Adern found the two boys in the garden and rubbed himself against Haruhito's legs. The prince bent down and carried the cat, placing him on his shoulders.

"This is stupid," Jinhai said. "We're here, and we can't do anything about it."

Haruhito shrugged. "My dad wouldn't listen to me, anyway."

After a few minutes, they walked back inside, feeling awkward. The news had tampered down the mood in the Men's Parlor.

Somewhere in the back of the room, Caspian was as pale as a ghost. He knew he needed to say something, but right now, he was paralyzed with fear. Fear of disappointing Eliza. Fear of being kicked out. Fear of ruining their tense alliance with Illéa once and for all, and it would be all his fault. Fear of losing friends over this stupid thing.

"Hey, you okay?" Tomlin said, sitting near Caspian, his back to the rest of the room.

Caspian shook his head. "No. Not really."

Tomlin sighed. "You've got to say something."

"I know. But she's gonna kick me out, and I really don't want to."

Tom looked over his shoulder at Eliza talking with Henri. "She'll understand."

"I'm not sure."

But before Tom could reply something, Caspian got to his feet and headed straight for Eliza. "I'm sorry to interrupt you guys, but can we talk? In private?"

Eliza looked at Caspian, curious.

"It's urgent."

"Sure." She looked at Henri. "I'll be right back." She followed Caspian out of the room and into another boudoir, a few doors down the hall.

"What's up? Are you okay?" she added, seeing his pale composure.

"No, I'm not. Really not." He took a deep breath, stuffed his fists in his pockets, and let his breath out slowly. He looked out the window. "Those Robots?"

"Yeah?"

"The French Engineer is me."

Silence. Then, "What? What are you talking about."

Caspian walked around the room, making sure there was no one there. "I live in the _Château d'Amboise_ , Leonardo da Vinci's old villa." He paused, but Eliza didn't comment, waiting for the rest of his story. "I found things he designed, things he never published. And one of them was a folder full of sketches of an exoskeleton armor. I'm pretty sure Ironman's armor is based on that. Anyway," he said, continuing and talking rather quickly, "I thought that something like that would be very useful for people who couldn't walk or used their bodies properly. This could change their life. I made a prototype and shared it with no one. But one day, it was gone, along with my tablet with all my notes. Someone stole them. And apparently sold everything to the Asians." He rubbed his face in irritation. "This is all my fault."

"Cas. It's not your fault," was the first thing Eliza said. She sat down on a couch. "You didn't even intend them to be used as weapons. You only wanted to help people."

"Yeah." His shoulders slumped. He sat next to her.

"And Leonardo da Vinci was a French engineer, was he not?"

"He was Italian, but died in France. He was pretty much French by the end of his life."

"Then it's him. Not you. Your work was twisted and used as something you had not intended. Right?"

He sighed. "I knew it could turn out into something like that if it got into the wrong hands. That's why I shared it with no one."

"Who knew about it?" she asked.

"No one. The engineers I work with might have found out. Or worse. My brother." He swallowed.

"We'll figure something out, I promise. But in any case, this is not your fault, nor your work."

"Well technically, yes, it is." He looked at her bottle green eyes when she simply shook her head. He felt a little relieved. "So you don't hate me? You're not going to kick me out?"

"Of course not."

 **-x-x-x-**

After lunch, Jericho and Eliza headed to the garage, where Linus was waiting for them in the black car – not the limo, it was too conspicuous – and they headed to Downtown Los Angeles.

"So, where are we going?" Eliza asked.

"You will see. But I'm sure you are going love it!" he said, grinning.

"Okay…"

The ride was only a few minutes, and when the car stopped, Eliza noticed it was a part of Los Angeles she had never been to before. Then she saw it. The hot pink wall and entrance door, where it was written in big white bold letters: " _Museum of Ice Cream_. Are you serious?" she said grinning like a school girl.

Jericho chuckled. "I told you you would like it!"

She laughed and they went in. Jericho had called in advance and they got in freely, even though he insisted on paying the tickets.

Everything inside was pink. Pink. Pink. Pink. It kind of made Jericho uncomfortable, but when he saw the sprinkle pool, he changed his mind. They both went in and took lots of pictures and selfies, laughing like two kids. Needless to say that they both had colorful sprinkles pretty much everywhere, even when they came back home, much later.

Once they had finished visiting the museum, they stopped at the Cupcake ATM at the end of the visit, and filled a whole box of all kinds of cupcakes. They went back in the car, ready to head home.

"Hey, would you like to go to the beach?" Eliza asked.

Jericho's eye lit up. "Yes!"

"My grandmother told me you missed the beach and all. So…"

"Oh. Yeah," he said, chuckling nervously. "I used to go every single day, back home."

The driver headed to the private Schreave beach, south of Los Angeles.

"Well, feel free to come here whenever you feel like it," she said. "I'm sure Linus can organize security for you to come here with some of the guys…"

He nodded and quickly stepped out of the car, placing his sunglasses on his nose. He grinned and took a huge breath of fresh salted air. He closed his eyes a moment and just listened to the waves. He could almost imagine himself back home.

"You miss home?" Eliza asked, also placing her sunglasses on her face.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "But this is perfect. It's as close as it gets to home."

"Good," she said. "I brought the cupcakes. Wanna eat them?"

Jericho laughed and nodded. They found a relatively comfortable seat on rocks, their feet in the waves, and they ate the whole box of cupcakes.

"I heard you founded the Echo Arts Foundation, in Manila. What is it exactly?" she asked, finishing her fourth cupcake.

"It's actually an organization that allows underprivileged children a chance into the performing arts," he replied.

"Music?"

"Yes, and theatre, film, dance, anything."

"That's pretty cool, actually," she said. "And I remember you play the violin. Do you play in an orchestra?"

"Yes. The Oceania Philharmonic Orchestra. We play lots of different things, but my favorite this is movie soundtracks with the movie images playing in the background."

"That's actually a thing?" Eliza asked.

Jericho nodded, eating a cupcake. "The best are usually epic movies, like _Lord of the Rings_ , or _Harry Potter_ , or something like that."

"Huh," she said. "I wonder if there's anything like that in Illéa. Because I'm definitely putting that on my bucket list."

Jericho chuckled. "What else is on your bucket list?"

"It depends which one. The one when I'm Queen or the one for another life?"

"Both?"

Eliza smiled. "Well, this one goes on both. But on the Queen Bucket List, there are things like visiting every province in the first two years of my reign. Or tackling the economic problems and alliances. Stuff like that."

"And on your in-another-life-bucket-list?"

"Sky diving, getting a Master's degree – but that one's already ticked off three times – or doing a really good cosplay, or going backpacking somewhere, by myself. Or get a tattoo. But most of those things are not compatible with my real life…" she trailed off.

"Maybe some are. Until you're Queen."

"Which is coming sooner than later."

"Why?" he asked. "Your father wants to step down?"

"He will. But I feel like it's going to just happen, and I won't see it coming."

Jericho nodded and they were both silent for a moment. Once the cupcakes were done with, Eliza suggested they go on a little digestive walk up and down the beach. They both took off their shoes and walked in the water, talking about other things. Eliza actually enjoyed Jericho's company, and she was glad she had suggested the beach after the museum.

Then they headed home and both went to their rooms to get ready for dinner, even though none of them was hungry, thanks to the cupcakes…

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Tuesday morning, an hour before sunrise_** **.**

Eliza was sound asleep in her soft and warm bed, dreaming of something nice – even though she wouldn't be able to remember her dream once she woke up – when she felt a light shake of her shoulder.

She woke up with a start, jerking up in a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you," came a familiar voice in the dark. It wasn't Linus. It was one of the Selected. But what was he doing here? And which one was it? She couldn't see him in the dark, so she turned on her nightstand lamp, blinding both of them in the process.

"CJ?" she said, surprised, when her eyes had recovered from the shock. "What are you doing here?" she checked her phone. "It's four in the morning."

He chuckled. "I know. But it's the perfect time to catch the sunrise."

Eliza yawned and raised an eyebrow at the same time, making a funny face. "Sunrise?"

CJ nodded. "Would you like to come? I've managed to coerce your bodyguard into driving us. He wasn't very happy about it, but what can he say, right?"

Eliza smirked. "Okay, uh, give me ten minutes to be ready."

"Okay. I'll wait for you in the Entrance Hall." He left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Eliza alone to get ready. Even though it was midsummer, it was still four in the morning, the coldest time of the night. She did a first stop in the bathroom, freshening up a bit, and quickly tying her hair in a braid. Then she chose a pair of black pants, a striped – how surprising – t-shirt and a long grey cardigan. She put on some sneakers, and popped a mint in her mouth.

In less than ten minutes, she was ready. She slipped her phone in her pocket – yes, her pants had pockets, obviously – and headed downstairs, making as little noise as possible. CJ was waiting for her and grinned when he saw her. She followed him outside, and sure enough, Linus was waiting for them in the black car, yawning, and dressed casually, not in his usual black suit. The tires made some noise on the gravel, but that was inevitable.

"So, where are we going?" she asked.

"Mount Lee," he replied. "We'll get a whole view of LA, the ocean, and the Palace. Oh, and the sunrise in the east, of course." He chuckled.

Eliza smiled and looked out the window. The sky was still very much dark, but it was normal, since they were in the West. But as they drove up the hill, she noticed the sky in the east becoming a bit lighter. Linus stopped the car at the top, and when Eliza stepped down, she felt the chill of the morning tickle her exposed skin. She was glad she had taken the cardigan.

CJ went all the way to the top and put his backpack on the ground. He looked over Los Angeles and grinned. "I've always wanted to come up here," he said. Eliza joined him at the top. "And me and my sister Siena always imagined climbing up those _HOLLYWOOD_ letters," he continued. "We've always wanted to go on the 'W'."

Eliza laughed. "You know that's illegal."

"Yeah," he said, shrugging. "That's why I haven't done it. Yet."

Eliza hugged her cardigan tighter and chuckled. "I would climb on the 'Y'," she said.

CJ was silent a moment. "Do you think you'd get arrested for this? I mean, being the Princess and all."

"Probably," she said. "And by the way, I don't like doing stuff just because I'm a Princess." She laughed. "But I wouldn't go to prison or anything."

"Hmm," he said. "Let's not tempt fate, then."

Eliza nodded and they sat there, after CJ laid out a blanket. He took out some croissants, waffles, and cinnamon rolls from a box and two thermos flasks with hot tea in them. They sipped their tea and watched as the sky – towards the east – turned pink, orange, and light blue.

As the sky turned bright, the city appeared at their feet, and so did the big letters.

Something fell out of CJ's pocket, on the blanket.

"What's that?" Eliza asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," he said, quickly hiding his little notebook.

"It's not nothing, let me see," she said, taking the notebook from him. Unnoticing CJ's cheeks becoming a bit red, she went through the pages filled with poems, sketches, and other things. "Oh, my God. CJ, this is amazing." She started reading one of the poems. " _Red hair_ and _bottle green eyes_. Is that about me?"

CJ sighed. "Yes. I'm sorry. This must sound so creepy," he said, taking the notebook back.

"Not at all," she said. "I'm flattered actually." She offered him a smile, and he smiled back.

"You know, I've been to many different countries and cities, but I've never met a woman like you."

"Everyone says that, to be honest," she said. "But thank you."

"I'm serious." He looked at her, searching her eyes, but she didn't look back. "You're spirited, beautiful, you know what you want, and you know how to get it. Not many people know what to do with their life, and don't do anything about it."

She hugged her knees against her chest. "You think I know what I want?" she sighed. "I know what people want me to do. But otherwise?" she shrugged, and chuckled. "Did you know that Jade Reese, the Editor who came last week, asked me what I would do if I wasn't a Princess?"

"And what did you say?"

"That I'd be a stay-at-home mom, helping my kids do their homework and bake brownies."

CJ smiled. "That's actually super cute."

"No it's not. Because it'll never happen." Eliza looked away, at the city. "Sometimes I just wish I wasn't born into Royalty and that I was just a random person no one knew."

CJ nodded. "But then Millie would be Heir, and no one wants that."

Eliza chuckled. "She's determined, we can give her that."

"Maybe, but she'll never take the Crown from you. You were born for this."

"Thanks," she said, shrugging. "I guess I don't have a choice, anyway." She checked her phone for the time. "We should probably head back if we want to be back on time for breakfast." CJ nodded. "But first, we take a selfie. I totally forgot to do that during the past few dates, so I'm definitely doing this now." She held the phone at arm's length to take a picture of her and CJ with the Hollywood sign behind them, and just as she took the picture, CJ planted a kiss on her cheek. She laughed. "That was smooth."

CJ smirked and stood, taking her hand to help her stand, too. He packed up the remains of their snacks into his bag and they headed to the car.

Once at the Palace, they walked up the stairs, and she stopped on the second floor with CJ. "Thank you for this sunrise," she said. "I hadn't done that in ages."

He grinned. "Sorry for waking you so early, but I'm glad you enjoyed it." He kissed her hand and Eliza went back to her room to take a real shower and get ready for the day. She just hoped she could squeeze in a couple napping hours in her schedule.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's Parlor, after breakfast._**

Eliza had kept the comfortable outfit from her morning date, and was now reading a name for the afternoon date. "Raphael." She looked up and met his gaze. He was already grinning like an idiot. "Would you prefer afternoon or evening?" she asked, hoping it would be an afternoon date so she could go to bed early.

"Afternoon," he said.

"Good." She put the paper away and sat on the table. "Now, we need to prepare for tomorrow's hospital visit. Who would like to come?"

Jinhai raised his hand. "Haruhito, Niko, and Jericho are coming with me."

Eliza raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You managed to convince them?"

"No, not really. Voluntold, actually."

Eliza laughed and looked at the three others. "Are you okay with this?" Jericho and Nikolai nodded, even though Niko didn't seem really happy about it. Haruhito, on the other hand, paled considerably. "Fine," he managed. He couldn't tell her that hospitals were his worst nightmare. But maybe if it wasn't for him, it would be okay? Adern cuddled against him, as if to tell him that everything would be okay.

"Excellent," she said. "I'll leave you to it, then." She walked away, leaving the boys to their Charity/birthday organization and went to see her father.

After lunch, Raphael and Eliza met in the Entrance Hall, both ready for their afternoon date. She had taken up his suggestion to wearing something comfortable and easy to move in, and was genuinely happy to see him grinning when he saw her.

"You can't imagine how long I've been waiting for this," he said.

"Well, I hope you haven't imagined anything, because I have a tendency to cause trouble, sometimes."

Raphael laughed. "I may have imagined several scenarios." He chuckled and they walked outside, where two bikes were waiting on the gravel, down the stone steps. "I hope your ankle's fine by now?"

"Yeah, totally." She smiled. "Although it's been ages since I've done that." She pointed at the bikes.

"You never forget," he said.

They both climbed on their bikes and headed outside the Palace, Linus following them with the black car, with Ruby and Lukas making sure to record as much as possible since they had already missed the morning date.

It took Eliza a few minutes to get used to cycling again, but when she did, it was really fun and freeing, almost as much as galloping with Luna. Raphael seemed to know exactly where he was going, and knowing him – or at least the little she knew about him – he must have already done this trip at least once. They pedaled for at least an hour, chatting about this and that.

On their first break, Raphael offered a chocolate bar to Eliza, the same he had taken to the hospital.

"How do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Make chocolate appear from thin air?"

He laughed. "Well, first off, it was in my bag. Second, I just received a couple days ago a package from my brother with a new load of chocolate."

"That's good to know," she said with a smirk. "Where are you hiding it, though?"

"Ha! Well, you'll have to come over to see for yourself."

"I might take you up on that. The stock you gave me is long gone."

He smirked. "Then you're more than welcome to stop by and ask for more. Shall we continue?"

She nodded and they climbed back on their bikes and continued on, going along the coast. It was a beautiful day, with a light breeze and some white clouds scattered throughout the sky. Eliza had a grin on her face, and she was actually happy, forgetting all about this Selection and the war going on far, far away. Raphael was riding next to her and noticed her smile. He stared at her from the corner of his eye and grinned, too. Unfortunately, he wasn't looking where he was going and rode straight into a tree on the side of the sandy road.

He crashed against it and fell on the side.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Eliza said, stopping at once and climbing down. She lifted his bike from him and kneeled next to him. He was laughing. "Are you serious? Why are you laughing? Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, continued laughing, and sat up. "No, I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"I, uh, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Yeah, I figured that out. You just don't ride into a tree on purpose."

He burst out laughing and stood. "You're right. But the person next to me was much more interesting to watch than the road ahead of me."

Eliza rolled her eyes, but her cheeks heated up nonetheless. They walked for a bit, pushing their bikes, until the path was large enough to ride again. A few minutes later, they arrived at the Los Angeles Venice beach, where Linus, Ruby and Lukas were waiting for them, since they couldn't follow them on the sandy path, and Linus didn't want to jog behind them. He knew he could trust Eliza to a Military Guy.

Once there, Raphael and Eliza left their bikes with Lukas near the black car and headed directly into a small crepe restaurant. There were lots of people in it who asked them to take pictures with them, sign some autographs, and even hug the Princess. Raphael ordered some takeaway crepes and they walked to the end of the long pear to eat them. Linus and the two others followed behind, not too close, to give them some space.

The couple sat at the end, their feet dangling over the water, and they both ate their chocolate-filled crepes, getting chocolate all over their fingers.

Eliza looked at Raphael. "You have some chocolate on your face," she lied. "Here let me take it off." But before that, she dipped her finger in the chocolate in her crepe and spread a long line of the brown stuff on his cheek.

"Oh, you want to play that game, huh?" he said, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "Here," he wiped his cheek on Eliza's arm. "How's that?"

She laughed. "I say you could have done better than that."

"Like this?" he continued, spreading chocolate all over her face with his hand.

Eliza burst out laughing. "Yeah. Better." She chuckled and wiped her eyes so she could see something. She continued eating her crepe as if she wasn't covered in chocolate.

Raphael mirthful, grinning from ear to ear.

"What?" she said.

"Nothing. But you should try chocolate more often. It suits you."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Really? Does it bring out my eyes?"

"Let me see," he said, and Eliza turned her face to look at him. "Hmm. Yeah. It does, actually. The bottle green stands out amazingly."

Their eyes locked, and she noticed only know that his eyes were a warm hazel color, and not the dark chocolate she always had in mind. His smile was warm and welcoming, too, and she actually felt pulled toward him. Before she knew it, she had leaned in and pressed her lips on his.

Both were as much surprised as expecting it, and Raphael was quick to recover and take action. He gently cradled her neck with one hand and kissed her back. He had dreamed of this for weeks, now, and it was even better than one of his scenarios. His heart beat like a mad drum in his chest, and he was scared it would jump out and he would die of happiness.

On the other side of the kiss, Eliza was surprised at how soft and warm and chocolate-y his lips were. He had actually been the first guy of the Selected she had wanted to kiss – like really kiss – and had kissed. She completely tuned everything out and enjoyed every second of it.

At some point, they broke off the kiss, somewhat reluctantly, because they needed to breathe.

"Was that part of one of your scenarios?" she asked softly.

He smirked. "Oh yeah." And then he kissed her again.

And the whole world was perfect.

* * *

 ** _Hey! so I hope you enjoyed this fluff-filled chapters with the three dates! Only seven First-Dates to do! whoop! we're getting there!_**

 ** _and as you may know, it will soon be Eliza's birthday. What would your OC give her?_** _(please reply either through PM or on Discord^^)_ ** _Thanks! :)_**

 ** _I'll see you soon, with chapter 31, with the Troublesome Foursome at the Hospital! See ya!_**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

The Royal airplane took off at exactly ten in the morning. Eliza was comfortably sitting in a plush armchair of the plane, while the boys sat together and chatted. She took out her book.

"What are you reading?" Jericho asked, leaning over, trying to read the title.

"I'm just starting on _Tales Untold_ ," she said. "I saw it was on the best seller's list in Illéa, and I thought _why not_?"

Haruhito choked on his water.

"Have you read them too?" she asked him. "There's a character named Master Adern in there, too, right?"

"There is?" Haruhito asked, coughing. "I wouldn't know." He coughed some more, the water still stuck somewhere.

"Hey, are you okay, man?" Jinhai asked, patting the new Asian Prince on the back.

"I'm fine," he wheezed. "I'm fine." He took a deep breath and was fine after that.

"Well, I'm only halfway through the first one, but it's pretty good," Eliza said, going back to her reading. She tucked her legs under herself, her skirt billowing over the seat as if she didn't have any legs.

Nikolai stared at her, because her not having legs was… awkward. She did have pretty legs.

"Stop staring," Jericho hissed nudging him in the arm, amusement filling his voice.

"Huh? I'm not."

"Yeah, you are."

Nikolai blushed. What on earth was he thinking? But they had three hours of flight in front of them, so he needed to find something to do. He didn't find anything to do and ended up looking at the clouds outside his window. It wasn't a nice day, not like the previous day, anyway. He sighed. He wondered about home. About Russia. About his brother. No. He couldn't go there. He knew if he would, he would start crying. He couldn't cry now. Especially not in front of the Princess. And _especially_ not in front of Jericho. He looked at the boy next to him, who had fallen asleep, his head lolling to the side. He quickly took a pillow and placed it behind Jericho's head and leaned back the seat a little.

He didn't notice Eliza looking at his little fuss, and she smirked. Did Nikolai actually smile at the sleeping boy? Because a smile was hard to get out from him. Eliza smiled, too, and quickly went back to her book before he noticed she was watching him.

On the other side of the plane, Jinhai was also reading a book, sipping milk through a straw, and Haruhito was sleeping on his shoulder. Eliza sighed and shook her head. How was she going to explain _that_ to the press if they continued like that? She just hoped they would be careful in public.

Two hours into the flight three boys out of four were sleeping, and Eliza was so engrossed in _Tales Untold_ that she didn't notice Nikolai sitting next to her on the other armchair.

"Is it really that good?" he asked.

She looked up and met the Russian prince's ice blue eyes. She smiled. "Oh yeah. You should read it."

He shrugged. "I'm not really a book lover."

She chuckled. "What are you a lover of, then?" she asked casually.

Nikolai's ears became a little red, but he contained himself. "I don't know. I've never considered myself having a heart or anything. Or at least it's made of stone or ice."

She nudges him in the arm. "Don't say that. You have a big heart. I know that."

"And pray tell how would you know that?" he asked, sitting straighter on the armchair, trying to hide a smirk.

"Well, for starters, I'm not blind. Second, I know you. A little. And you're a big softie."

"I am not," he said, slightly offended.

"You are. And you care for your friends." She chuckled. "If you weren't, you wouldn't have come to talk to me."

He was silent. "Okay, that's true." He paused. "But-"

"But nothing, Niko."

"Can I ask you something?" he said after a moment. She nodded so he continued. "Have you already been in love?"

Eliza was not expecting that question. "Uhm, I don't know." She paused. "No, I don't think so. You?"

Nikolai sighed. "I have no idea." He looked over at the sleeping boy. "There's this huge battle inside of me, you know?"

Eliza closed her book and put it aside, because she felt this conversation was going to take some time. "What kind of battle?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "But anyway," he sighed, changing the subject. "How come you and your sister are so different?"

"Tell me about it," she said. "We used to be so close and so alike when we were kids."

"Really? That's hard to believe."

Eliza snorted. "Yeah well. I'm pretty sure she was cursed by a witch at some point while I was away."

"Who?"

"My mom?" she grimaced.

Nikolai's eyes widened like saucers, then he burst out laughing. Eliza found it cute how his nose scrunched up when he laughed. He quickly covered his mouth to smother the sound so he wouldn't wake up the others. "You're telling me that your mom is an evil witch?" he chuckled.

"I don't know. All I know is that she's backing her in her feud against me."

"Not cool," he said, being all serious again.

Just then, Jericho stirred and looked around, lost. He looked at the seat next to him, but it was empty and he sat up, looking for Nikolai. When he saw him with Eliza, he smiled. Good. He hadn't left or anything.

Over the next half an hour, all boys woke up and they got ready to disembark. Sandwiches passed around before touch down, because they would head directly to the hospital. The drive there was only fifteen minutes, but Eliza noticed Haruhito and Jericho getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Nikolai didn't seem too bothered by the prospect, and Jinhai was actually excited and the only one talking in the car.

Adern was lazily sleeping on Haruhito's lap. Well, _sleeping_ was a far-fetched statement. He usually just lay around and _listened_ to what the humans said.

When they arrived, Eliza noticed a small group of medical staff waiting for them. The car stopped, and all the boys got out first. The only one who remembered to help Eliza out of the car was Nikolai. He knew he wasn't in love with her, but there was something between them. He just couldn't put his finger on it, yet.

"Thanks," she said, taking his offered hand and got out of the car. She walked ahead of the group, Jericho and Haruhito dropping behind.

"Hello, and welcome to the Calgary Children's Hospital," a kind woman said, trying out an awkward curtsy to the Princess and four Princes accompanying her. "I'm Doctor Kay, the Clinic Director."

"Thank you," Eliza said. "We're really happy to be here."

The Doctor smiled. "Excellent. The children are really excited to meet you. Follow me." She smiled and started ahead, the Royal party following closely behind. At least Eliza and Jinhai were. The others were a bit more reluctant to go in.

"Uhm, Your Highness?" a nurse said to the New Asian prince. "You can't come in with the cat. It'll bring unwanted germs inside."

Haruhito didn't say anything and just replied something in Japanese.

"I'm sorry, what?" the nurse said. The name tag said her name was H. Gummy.

He repeated what he had just said, still in Japanese.

Nikolai stepped in, since he was the only other one who spoke Japanese. "Sorry, my friend here… doesn't speak English. But he said he's not going on without the cat, miss."

Nurse Gummy didn't know what to do. She couldn't just order a prince not to come in. She quickly walked up to Dr. Kay and whispered something in her ear. Dr. Kay frowned, but walked up to the New Asian prince and Nikolai.

"I'm sorry but you can't come in with the cat. And that's final."

Haruhito and Nikolai shared a glance, but Haruhito turned around and walked back to the car. He climbed in and slammed the door. Eliza was surprised, so she followed him to the car. She tried to open the door but it was locked.

"Haruhito, are you okay? Please open the door."

The door didn't open, but the window came down an inch. "I'm not going in without Adern," he simply said, coming back to English.

"Yes, I understood that. But they won't let the cat in."

"But why?" he asked. "I-" he sighed. "I won't survive this without him."

"What are you talking about, Haruhito?" she asked, gently. "I thought Jinhai convinced you to come?"

"No. He didn't. I didn't want to come."

"Then why did you agree when I asked if it was okay with you?"

He grunted. "Because I couldn't just say no. In front of everyone."

Eliza looked at her shoes. "Look-"

"May I?" Jinhai said, stepping in.

"Sure." She stepped aside, and Jinhai stood next to the window. She gave them some privacy.

"Haruhito, can I come in?"

Without any question, the door opened, and Jinhai climbed in. He closed the door behind him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going in without Adern. I told you I didn't want to go, but you forced me." He swallowed and didn't look at his friend – who also technically his enemy, right?

"Haru, it'll be okay. I'll be right here with you the whole time. The kids don't bite and-"

"It's not the kids I'm afraid of," he said.

Both princes were silent for a moment. Then Jinhai took Haruhito's hand. "I'll be here the whole time. I promise. Everything is going to be fine. And if you don't feel well inside, I'll come back with you to the car, okay? But you have to leave Adern here."

Hearing his name, Adern looked up and meowed. He rubbed his head against his human's belly and sat on his lap.

"See? He'll be waiting for you here." He paused. "Are you coming? Please? For me?"

Haruhito looked at Jinhai's dark brown eyes. It took him a moment to decide. But he trusted him, right? "Okay." He patted Adern. "I'll be back, kitty. I promise."

"Good," Jinhai said. "Let's go." He stepped out of the car and Haruhito followed behind, leaving Adern in the car.

"Okay, we're good to go," Jinhai said to Eliza with a big grin.

"Great." She smiled and they went in. Linus walked next to Eliza.

"You do realize these four guys are gay, right?"

"Yeah, I know." She chuckled. "You think I'm blind?"

"Then why are you keeping them?"

"That's my problem, not yours, Linus. But thank you for your concern."

The group walked inside, and were surprised to see all the walls painted with nice things: forests, animals, shapes, water, … Even the main playroom on the first floor was Little Mermaid themed, with an underwater shipwreck, a huge trampoline octopus, and all kinds of other toys.

"This is awesome!" Eliza said, grinning from ear to ear. "I've never seen anything like this, before!"

The Clinic Director, Dr. Kay, smiled. "Well, we like to do things a bit differently, here. Kids don't usually like hospitals, so we tried to turn it into one big playground, or storybook." She paused. "If you follow the red line on the floor, you'll read a whole story written on the walls, one different on each floor. Artists came to illustrate that story. And the children who can't read, yet, can still follow the story, thanks to the pictures."

Eliza grinned. "Every hospital should be like this. Even for adults."

Nurse H. Gummy laughed. "Yeah. But adults wouldn't appreciate it as much as children. Their idea of a Hospital is already too much unchangeable. For some kids, this is their first stay in a hospital."

Eliza nodded. "I'm curious to see how the rooms are designed."

"Why don't we start with visiting the rooms, then?" Dr. Kay suggested.

Eliza and Jinhai were really excited about the whole designs of the hospital. He kept an eye on Haruhito, but he seemed to be okay, for now. Nikolai was not overly excited, but that was his nature. As for Jericho, he was a bit pale. The colorful drawings helped a bit with forgetting they were in a hospital, and more in a kindergarten school.

The rooms were decorated with pictures of animals, colorful bed sheets, large and bright windows, and lots of storage for books, toys, and other things they'd bring from home.

Eliza and Jinhai met with the kids of room 707 without even being asked or introduced. Jericho and Haruhito stayed in the doorway, watching. Nikolai? He was torn in between. He didn't mind the hospital, but kids really weren't his thing. He wanted to please Eliza in some way – or at least not disappoint her – but he also needed to be sure Jericho was okay.

"You okay?" he asked him discreetly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jericho replied, if a bit stiffly. "I don't really like hospitals."

Nikolai looked around. "It looks more like a school than anything else."

"Except for that," Jericho said, pointing at a nurse running and pushing a bed with a child on it. The kid had an oxygen mask and she was saying something to another nurse.

"Excuse me," nurse H. Gummy said, walking through the door, pushing the princes aside.

At the sight of the whole commotion, Haruhito quickly sat against the wall, his head between his knees, taking deep, ragged breaths.

"Dude, are you okay?" Nikolai asked, crouching near Haruhito, who didn't answer. His breathing came in quick and jolting, as if oxygen couldn't get in anymore. "Dude, calm down," Nikolai said, putting his hand on Haruhito's arm, who violently pushed it away.

"Uh, guys? We have a problem…" he said, coming into the room.

Everyone looked up at him.

"What?" Eliza asked.

"Haruhito, he's-"

Without waiting the end of the sentence, Jinhai jumped outside the door, reaching Haruhito.

"Hey," he said, sitting down in front of him. "Breathe in," he ordered softly. "Now breathe out." He breathed slowly for Haruhito to follow the rhythm. After a few minutes like that, he was a tiny little bit calmed down. Enough to unfold himself from his head-between-the-legs position and stand. "Come on, let's go to the car, okay?"

Haruhito nodded, letting the Mongolian prince lead the way. He felt empty, and a storm at the same time.

"I'm going back to the car with him," he told Nikolai, and Nikolai told Eliza.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Panic attack, I think," he said.

Jericho was still standing near the door, unmoving, even paler than before. But he was fighting. He didn't want to end up like Haruhito. He walked down the hall and followed the red line on the floor. He read the story on the wall, reading every word carefully, trying to focus on something else than his drumming heart. He was afraid it would suddenly stop.

"Can you read me the story?" a little girl asked, taking his hand.

He looked down. "Uh, yeah, sure." He started at the beginning of the hall and read the story. When he completed the tour of the floor, the short story was finished, his heart was now beating normally, and he felt a little bit better.

After all the rooms had been visited by Eliza and Nikolai – reluctantly – they headed downstairs to play in the _Under The Sea_ themed playroom. Lots of kids were already waiting there, having been promised a play time with the princess and her suitors. Eliza had been playing with some kids, Nikolai stood on the side, watching, and Jericho was reading a book to a group of kids, when Jinhai came back, alone.

"Where is he?" Nikolai asked.

"In the car. With his cat."

"Is he feeling better?"

"Yeah, I think so. Voluntelling him like this was a bad idea." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at his shoes. "This whole thing was a bad idea."

Nikolai shrugged. "We were all going to go through this anyway. At least now it's done."

Jinhai chuckled and looked at Eliza. "At least she's happy."

"Yeah," Nikolai said, but he was looking at Jericho.

"When are you going to tell him?" Jinhai asked.

"Tell him what?" Nikolai asked. His ears and neck became pink, but he kept a poker face.

Jinhai chuckled. "You like him. And I know he likes you," he said softly.

Nikolai didn't answer right away. He balled his fists in his pockets. Was he so easy to read? Did everyone know? If his family got wind of this, he would be screwed. Like literally. Disowned, and all. "I don't know," he finally said.

Jinhai offered him a quick smile and walked into the playroom. He made a direct beeline to Eliza to update her on Haruhito's condition and state at the present.

"Thank you. I'll talk to him later."

Jinhai nodded, and he went to play with the kids in the giant octopus trampoline. He was a cute ball of smiles and softness around kids and Nikolai actually joined in at some point, but just to sit close and watch. Because kids _really_ were not his thing.

An hour later, it was time for the Royal guests to take their leave. The children had had enough excitement for one day, and it was getting late. Especially since they still had three hours of flight before getting home.

"I'm so happy you could come," Dr. Kay said. "I'm sorry about the Asian Prince, though."

"Don't worry about him," Eliza said. "I don't think he really wanted to come in the first place." She shook hand with the doctor. "Thank you for having us, and I wish all the best for your hospital."

"Thank you, Your Royal Highness." Dr. Kay grinned and bowed awkwardly. Then the Princess said goodbye to Nurse Gummy – it actually turned out the kids called her that because she was always giving out gummy bears – and they headed to the car.

Haruhito was already in there, asleep, Adern curled in a ball on his lap. He jolted awake when they opened the door.

"It's okay," Jinhai said, sitting next to him. "It's just us."

Haruhito looked around, saw his friends and the Princess, and closed his eyes again. An hour later, they were in the air, on their way home. Dinner was served, they slept a bit or read, and arrived home at around ten o'clock. Eliza thanked the boys for coming with her, and tried to talk to Haruhito, but he claimed he was tired, and that he needed to go to bed. Jinhai promised her he would look after him and make sure he made it bed.

She thanked him and headed to her own room, meeting no one on her way there.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _During that Hospital visit, in the afternoon, in King Oliver's Office._**

After lunch, Oliver was in his office, smoking his daily cigar, reading over an exchange of letters he had written with another monarch. When the awaited knock sounded on his door, he called out for his wife to come in.

"You asked for me, darling?" she asked, a sweet – maybe a bit too sweet – smile on her lips.

"Yes. Sit down," he ordered her, not inviting her to sit next to him, but across for him. This was a professional conversation. A King to his Queen Consort. Not Husband to Wife. She was startled at his command, but obeyed, keeping her composure as best she could.

He looked at her through the thick smoke of his cigar, knowing well that she hated when he smoked. She was at a disadvantage. Truth be told, he had hesitated to also _borrow_ Eliza's cat for the ordeal, but the grey thing was nowhere to be found. So he used the smoke.

"Who is the ruler of his country, Elinor?" he asked without preamble.

"We- I mean, you are of course," she replied, her hands tightly crossed on her lap, betraying her nervousness.

"Correct. And who is the Heir to my throne?"

She didn't answer in the second, but finally said: "Elisabeth."

"Correct. Now, explain to me why you back up our _second_ daughter?" he puffed on his cigar and let the smoke out very slowly. She wrinkled her nose and tried not to cough.

"I-" She squared her shoulders, ready to defend her favorite child. "I think Emilia is better suited to the throne. She has always served her country and has never left your side to pursue selfish goals."

"And Elisabeth has?" he asked, genuinely curious about her answer.

"Of course, she has. And we already talked about this. What are you trying to say, Oliver?"

He sighed. "Elinor. When I chose you as my wife, at the end of my Selection, I chose you because I loved you. And I knew you would make a great Queen, and the people loved you. And it is still the case." He paused. It was true. He still loved her dearly, and that was probably why he had never really told her this before. "But-" he opened a drawer and took out a paper, "in our wedding vows, you promised to obey me, as your husband, and as your King. Is that correct?" he handed her the paper signed by both with the royal seal.

She quickly read the lines she had said on their wedding day. "Yes," she said curtly. "I did."

"Good." He took the paper back and pit put it in the drawer. "Now, as your husband and as your King, I ask you to stop encouraging Emilia onto this path."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, lifting her chin, offended.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "As long as I live and as Eliza lives, Emilia has no right to the Throne. There is nothing you can do about it. Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, Your Majesty," she said, bitter.

It was like a stab in Oliver's heart to hear her call him that, but it needed to be done.

"Good. So this is what I'm going to do…"

He went on explaining what he had in mind, and even though Elinor fought with all her might not to let it happen, she didn't have a choice. The King had the last word in the matter. And besides, the deal had already been done and signed. There was no turning back, now.

* * *

 _ **Hey! so here's the Troublesome Foursome chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!** (no one died, sorry, Kay.)_

 _ **don't forget, if you haven't already, to send me** (discord or FF PM) **your OC's birthday present to Eliza! Thanks to all who already have ;) if I don't get an idea from you, your OC won't be mentioned in the gift giving... Oh, and if you have a picture of your gift, send it to me, too** (don't post it on your OC's section, but send it through Pinterest, or Discord) **, that would be great!**_

 _ **anyway, don't forget to check out the Aesthetic Board on Pinterest ;) I'll see you soon!**_


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Two days before the Charity Gala held for Eliza's Birthday and organized by the boys themselves, the whole Palace was in a frenzy. Staff members were toing and froing, following orders – sometimes counterorders and had to go back, but details – and the boys were most busy with their tasks. They accepted Eliza to come to pick a date, but she quickly had to leave after that, because they wanted to keep most of the event secret.

Eliza picked a paper and read the name out loud. "Master Adern." She paused. "Okay, who did this?" She was half annoyed, half trying not to laugh.

"Finally!" Rafe said from the back of the _classroom_. "Took you long enough to pick that one."

Eliza chuckled. "Why would- Okay fine," she said. "I'll have a date with the Cat. And Mistress Pebbles." She looked at Rama. "And if you want me to babysit Vasavi, too, just hand her over."

Rama chuckled. "Sure."

"What about Draco?" Rafe asked. "Can you babysit him, too?"

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Are you guys serious?" She folded the paper and slipped it in her pocket. "Fine, anyone who wants me to babysit their pet brings them to my room at two this afternoon. I'll have a play date with the animals." She sighed. "Now, for a real date, this evening." She picked another paper and read it out loud. "Rance."

He nodded. "Excellent. I'll let you know the time to meet later."

"Good." She put the paper in her pocket and Henri put the box away. "I'll leave you gentlemen to your… business," she said, heading to the door. As soon as she was out, the boys broke into groups and got down to business. There were lots of things left to do in 48 hours. The smaller Ballroom was being transformed into a dining room, and the boys had hired an event designer to decorate the great Ballroom, because none of the suitors had any idea about decorating. In the kitchens, last minutes decisions were made and the menu perfected to the last tiny detail.

At first, the boys weren't really into this organizing-an-event thing, but now they were all in, giving their best. And some of them really wanted to impress. Be it Eliza or the People of Illéa, they weren't even sure themselves.

Around two in the afternoon, Eliza was playing with a piece of ribbon with Mistress Pebbles, when a knock sounded on her door. She stood to open it.

"Hi!" Rafe said, holding Draco in his arms. Haruhito, Hans, and Rama were behind him, all with their cat in their arms, grinning. Well, not Haruhito. They all stepped in and put their animal on the plush carpet, and headed for the door.

"Just don't let him go anywhere he doesn't know," Haruhito said. "And don't give him non-cat food. Especially not alcohol."

Rafe burst out laughing. "She's not stupid. She knows how to take care of a cat. I mean. Pebbles is still alive, right?"

Eliza laughed. "She is." She sat on the floor, lots of cat toys around her.

"Have a nice date," Rama said, smirking. "Just don't kill them."

"Why does everyone seem to think I can't take care of a bunch of pets?" she said, rolling the eyes as the boys walked out, chuckling. They closed the door and she was left alone. She looked around and saw a black kitten – she had to look through her memory to remember his name, Shadow –, Master Adern, Vasavi, Mistress Pebbles, and Rafe's ferret, Draco. A cat she could handle. A ferret? She had no idea what to do. The first thing she thought of was to play with a red dot. Cats loved it, so why not try that? She had one she had bought online for Pebbles so she went to get it.

She lay on her stomach on the plush carpet, her head resting on a **pillow** , and started shining the red dot on the floor and on the walls. Master Adern was the first to notice it and jump on it. Followed closely by Shadow, Vasavi, and Mistress Pebbles. Draco the Ferret didn't care for the red dot. He climbed on Eliza's back and shoulders, and just rested there.

She was laughing and giggling by herself, watching the cats dive right and left for the red dot. She could have done this for hours.

But her door suddenly opened.

"Oh," Millie said, stopping short, seeing her sister flat on her belly on the floor, surrounded by animals. "I was wondering why you were laughing and talking by yourself." She sat on a chair, and little black Shadow climbed on her skirt and up to her lap. "Ew, ew, ew! Get off me!" she said, pushing the cat on the floor.

"Don't hurt him," Eliza said, taking the kitten in her arms. "He's just a baby."

"You're impossible."

"What do you want, Emilia. Because if you're here just to be annoying, I suggest you go."

"Oh, I have some information for you," she said, making herself comfortable on the chair. She opened the folder she had with her and took out a paper. "Did you know that your precious little French Prince designed the robot drones currently destroying Mongolia?" She smirked.

"Yeah, I know," Eliza calmly said.

"Wait. How do you know?"

"How do _you_ know?" Eliza returned the question.

"I just know." She paused. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." She sat up because all four cats were demanding attention, and Draco was climbing on her bed. She caught him before he could do any damage. "Now, if you said all you wanted to say, leave."

"I'm not done," she said. "Did you know that-"

"You know what? I don't care."

"But it's really-"

"Get. Out. Of. My. Room." She glared at her sister. "Now."

Millie sighed. "Fine. Don't blame me if you find all this juicy information on the internet, or elsewhere."

"Don't you dare, Millie," Eliza said. "You better be careful what you do. You know the slightest mistake or thing you say can end up with something pretty bad."

"Like what? A world war?" she snorted. "There's already one going on. What's another war, right?"

"Get out."

"Fine, fine."

After Millie left, Eliza didn't want to play anymore. She just lay down on the rug, staring at the ceiling. What information did her sister dig up? She wasn't sure she wanted to know. But she knew her father had her back. Right? The cats and Draco demanded attention and started whining and climbing on top of her. But she didn't move. Pebbles was the first one to curl up in a ball on Eliza's stomach and purr. Vasavi followed suit, on the princess' legs, Shadow just kept climbing up and down her feet, like he was **dancing** , and Adern just sat there, staring at the human girl. She was weird, and he knew it.

She just lay there, and eventually fell asleep, the cats keeping her a warm company.

About two or three hours later, the boys came back for their animals. They knocked on her door, but she didn't answer. They knocked a second time, but again, she didn't hear. She was way too far in Morpheus' arms.

Rafe opened the door, and when they saw the Princess asleep with the cats on her, he chuckled. He took out his phone and took a picture. Rama, Haruhito, and Hans sniggered at the sight, which made Eliza jump awake, startling the cats.

"What the-" she looked up. "Oh my God. I fell asleep." She sat up and looked around.

"Where's Draco?" Rafe asked, coming in and looking under the bed and in other usual places where he knew his ferret would go. They found him in the bathroom, eating bath salts. "No no no no no," Rafe said, taking Draco in his hands. "No no no, don't eat that. Shit. how much did you eat?" The ferret just stared back, and burped.

"I'm so sorry," Eliza said. "I didn't know he would wander off. I fell asleep and-"

"It's fine," Rafe said, not really believing his own words. "He ate worst stuff. Like rocks."

"You let your pet eat rocks?" Rama asked.

"Yes, with mayonnaise and ketchup." He rolled his eyes. "I'll just need to make sure he's okay in the next couple days."

"Well if he's not, I know a good vet," Eliza offered. Well, she knew the sister of a good vet. Speaking of Kora, she hadn't seen her in a while. Maybe she should call her again, soon. She would soon need a good waxing.

"Thanks," Rafe said, heading for the door. "I'll let you know."

The boys all headed outside with their animals, leaving Eliza alone.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Six o'clock, date time._**

Eliza was getting ready, trying not to be late for her date with Rance. Since they were going out for the evening, she put a rose-pink skirt, a striped t-shirt, and a jeans jacket. It was mid-summer, but the jacket completed the outfit – said Samantha – with a pair of black pumps. Samantha also did her hair in a loose half braid. She was finishing tying everything when the knock on the door made them both jump.

"I'll get the door, Milady," Sam said, quickly heading for the door.

"Your Highness," she said to the boy standing in the door frame. "She's almost ready. You can come in." She curtsied and let Rance in.

"Thanks," he said. He walked all the way up to where Eliza was sitting at her vanity table and smiled at her, through the mirror. "Hi. Ready?"

"Almost."

Samantha quickly finished pinning stray strands in place, and then the princess took a small black handbag, put her phone in it and some other necessities.

"Okay, I'm ready." She smiled and followed him out of the door, and all the way to the garage. "Where are we going?" she asked, closing the door of the car.

"You'll see," he said, smirking. They chatted during the drive, and she tried to pry information on the charity event for her birthday, but he wouldn't tell her anything. "It's a surprise. But I promise, you're gonna love it," he said.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped in town. "What kind of pizza do you like?" Rance asked.

"Pizza?" she chuckled. "Uhm, Californian? Prosciutto, arugula, and burrata?"

Rance nodded and noted it down on a small paper. He wrote down his choice for a pizza and asked Linus to go get them two pizzas.

"What?" he said, confused. "I'm not an errand boy."

"Just do it, man," Rance said. "There's no one else."

"I'll just go," Eliza said, trying not to laugh at Linus being ordered around by Rance.

"No, it's fine, I'll do it," Linus said, getting out of the car and slamming the door.

Both Rance and Eliza burst out laughing. "I can't believe you did that," she said.

Rance shrugged. "Yeah, well. If we both went in, we would have gotten out in two hours. There are too many people in there, and you're a celebrity."

She shook her head, chuckling. Ten minutes later, Linus was back with three pizza boxes and put them on the seat next to him.

"Why do you have three boxes?" Rance asked. "I only ordered two."

"Because I'm also gonna have to eat something," Linus said, grumpy.

Eliza tried not to laugh. Poor Linus. A few minutes later, they arrived at the Schreave private beach. Rance and Eliza got out of the car, leaving Linus alone in the car, surveying the beach. And eating his pizza alone.

Rance took out a dark red blanket and a bottle of rosé wine from his bag and they sat there. He filled two glasses and Rance wanted to do a toast.

"To pizza, wine, and the Selection," he said.

Eliza laughed. "To pizza, wine, and the Selection," she repeated. They clinked their glasses together and sipped. "If my mother knew I was drinking wine, she would kill me."

"Nah, she knows."

"What?"

"I didn't want to make a mistake or anything, so I personally asked her if I could open a bottle of rosé with you tonight."

"And she said yes?"

"Well…" he trailed off. "Your father happened to be there, and he said yes."

She laughed. "You have to be kidding me."

"Nope."

They were silent for a moment, sipping on their wine and listening to the waves crashing on the sand in a rhythmic noise. They also started on their pizzas.

"Tell me about New Zealand," she said out of the blue. "I've never been there, but I'd love to, one day."

At the sound of his beloved country's name, he smiled. "It's honestly the most beautiful place on Earth." He took a deep breath and stared in distance. "Every place you go there is something incredible to see or do. Like there's a cave full of glowworms. Or amazing waterfalls in different places. Hidden caves and beaches, amazing hiking paths." He trailed off, nostalgic. He thought of his little sister, Princess Roseanne.

"You miss your family?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he said, coming out of his daze. "My little sister, mostly." She smiled. "She's the light of the kingdom, to be honest. Everyone loves her, and she's the sweetest thing."

"Do you have a picture of her?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah." He took out his phone and scrolled in his pictures. "Here." He showed her several pictures, one where he was holding her in the stars, another where he was playing guitar and singing along with her – "She always wants me to sing Disney songs." – and another one where he carried her on his shoulders.

"You two seem really close."

"Yeah, we are," he said, grinning. "I've never been for so long away from her, to be honest."

Eliza sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be." He paused. "She also needs to learn to live without me." He chuckled. "I mean. I won't always be there for her, you know?"

Eliza nodded and started on another slice of pizza. "Yeah. But she's still so young. How old is she?"

"Four."

"Aw. So cute."

They talked and ate pizza and drank wine until late in the evening, watching the sun go down on the horizon.

"You know what my little sister used to say?" Rance said. "About the sunset?"

"No?"

He chuckled at the memory. "She always wanted to go swim in the ocean in the morning because she claimed the sun had warmed the water during the night. I mean, the sun does go into the water, at night, right?" he smirked, and Eliza laughed.

"That's actually the cutest thing I've ever heard. Has she tried swimming in the morning?"

"Oh yeah. But she would never admit the water is actually pretty chilly in the morning. She would swim for a few minutes, claiming it was warm and all, but she would come out with purple lips."

"Oh no!" Eliza said. "Poor thing." She chuckled. "She really seems like the cutest girl."

"She is."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Friday afternoon, Downtown Los Angeles._**

Eliza's next date was with Kwasi, and they were both sitting in the back seat of the car. He had told her they were going to a museum, but he didn't tell her which one. Ever since their failed conversation during the Ball – weeks ago –, she dreaded their date. Would he only talk to her about politics, infrastructure and roads?

The drive to Downtown Los Angeles was silent, both looking out their window. She wondered about the _Illéa Weekly_ Magazine, because it was supposed to get out that same day, and she still hadn't seen it.

When the car stopped, Eliza recognized the Broad Museum. She smiled. "I've never been here before," she said.

"Oh, good. I was afraid you'd already been."

They headed to the entrance and Kwasi insisted paying for two tickets, leaving Linus outside. Kwasi really didn't want to have the man follow them inside.

They strolled together looking at the contemporary art exposed in the museum. The first thing they saw was a huge blue dog that seemed to be made out of shiny balloons. But it was just some kind of metal.

Eliza chuckled. "It's as big as those **dinosaur** skeletons in the History Museum."

Kwasi smiled. "Yes. Although I can't say if it looks more like a **cat** or a dog, to be honest."

"Are you kidding?" Eliza said. "This is definitely a dog."

On the walls around the room were large picture frames with geometric and colorful paintings. It wasn't really Eliza's style of decoration, but she tried to keep an open mind.

" ** _Hemiola_** ," Kwasi read. "Do you know what that means?"

Eliza came over, reading the text next to the picture. "No idea. It sounds like a virus. Or a disease."

Kwasi searched on his phone. "It's actually something related to music."

"Huh." Eliza looked at the picture again. "I still don't see the connection between that and the picture."

They stared at the art piece, trying to understand. They didn't.

The next room was adorned with more modern-looking paintings, and some kind of giant flower bouquet made of those same shiny fake balloons.

"If these things were yellow, they could almost pass for giant half **bananas** ," Eliza said.

Kwasi looked at the sculpture. "True. But I don't think the artist would be very happy to hear that."

"Maybe not, but he's not here," Eliza shrugged. She looked around, keeping any further comments to herself. He really wasn't that funny, to be honest. "Kwasi," she suddenly asked, as they entered yet another room. "Are you always this serious?"

He didn't answer right away. "No," he finally said. "When you get me started on architecture and design, I'm a big nerd."

"Architecture and design, huh?" she said. But her interest was quickly changed to the gigantic table and chairs in the room. She felt tiny! "What is even the point in making things like this?" she asked, touching the huge chair. "It doesn't even mean anything. What's the message behind it?"

Kwasi's shoulder's slumped. Taking the princess to the Broad Museum wasn't the best idea, after all. "Uhm, maybe the artist is trying to put us back in our place, you know? Like we think we're important, but when you look at the Earth compared to the universe, we're just tiny, insignificant dots. Floating in the universe. Even when you're **queen**."

Eliza looked at Kwasi. "That's scary. Even though I'm not queen, yet."

"But it's only a matter of time, right?"

"I guess so. I have no idea when my father will step down."

"When did he take his own father's place?" Kwasi asked, curious.

"When my grandfather died."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She went ahead to the next exposition room, and found herself in the middle of a dark room covered in mirrors, as if the room was infinitely big. There were little lights everywhere, and Eliza really thought she was a tiny dot in the Galaxy. She didn't feel well. "I need to get some air," she said curtly, walking out of the room. Thank goodness it was practically the end of the tour, and she quickly walked out, Kwasi on her heels.

Linus was leaning on the car, smoking a cigarette when he saw Eliza storm out of the museum.

"Hey! Everything okay?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. I just need some air."

She walked right past him, **weaving** through the people on the street who didn't recognize her right away, and down the street. Linus followed her at some distance, giving her space. She stopped in front of a Starbucks shop, looked into the window, and went inside. The **barista** behind the counter just froze when he saw her.

"Hi, I'd like a Caramel Macchiato, please. The biggest you have," she said, ignoring the poor young man frozen into place. The song " **Dancing Queen** " from Abba was playing in the background.

A girl in the green apron came to the rescue and gently pushed the boy aside. "Please excuse him, Your Highness. It's his first week here."

Eliza chuckled. "There aren't any celebrities coming in here, being so close to Hollywood and all?"

"No. There are closer Starbucks and other coffee bars to that neighborhood." She worked at preparing the Princess's coffee. "You were on a date?" she asked, curious.

"Yeah. The Broad Museum."

"Oh nice!" the girl said. "I love that place. Who were you with?"

"The Prince for the United Nations of Africa."

The girl gave the Princess her coffee and took the _Illéa Weekly_ Magazine from behind the counter. She quickly went through the pages. "Ah. Prince Kwasi?"

"Yes," she said. "Can I see it?"

"Oh, sure," the girl said, handing her the magazine. "That'll be five dollars for the coffee."

Eliza put her cup on the counter and took out her credit card from her purse.

"Who's that guy?" the girl asked, pointing at someone behind Eliza.

Eliza turned around and chuckled. "Don't mind him. He's my bodyguard." He was looking through the window, his hands around his face.

"Weird."

"I know." She quickly went through the magazine looking at the pictures. It was funny to see the finished product.

"Do you mind," the girl said, "If I took a picture with you?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Eliza smiled and put the magazine away. The girl walked around the counter and took a selfie with Eliza and her coffee. "I hope that will bring you more customers," Eliza said, looking around the almost empty shop.

"Yeah, me too."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, uh…"

"Giselle."

"It was nice meeting you, Giselle. But I'm afraid my _date_ is waiting for me outside."

Giselle chuckled. "Can I ask you something, before you leave?"

"Sure."

"Do you have a favorite, among your suitors, I mean?"

Eliza laughed. "That's confidential, I'm afraid. But yes, I have _favorites_. Plural." She winked at Giselle and walked outside.

"You just ditched Kwasi for a coffee," Linus stated, unimpressed, when she stepped outside.

"Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I just- He's waiting for you near the car, smoking a cigarette."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know he smoked."

Linus shrugged. "He told me he usually chewed nicotine, but since he didn't have any on hand, he asked me for a cigarette."

Eliza rolled her eyes and sipped her caramel macchiato. They walked in silence to the car, where Kwasi was indeed smoking.

The drive was so quiet that Eliza asked Linus to put some music on. He obliged and turned on the radio.

"Oh, my God," Kwasi said. "What is that awful music?"

Eliza sipped her coffee. "I believe this is **K-Pop**. You don't like it?"

"Change it," he ordered.

Linus, again, obliged.

"Ah, this is better," he said. " **BlueBird** , from the Beatles."

"BlackBird," Eliza corrected him. He really needed to get to know his music better. They listened to random oldies until they arrived at the Palace. Kwasi got out of the car and helped Eliza out, like the true gentleman he was. Or at least what his **sister** had told him to do.

"Thanks for the date," she said mechanically. "But I need to go get ready for the report."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Report Studio._**

"Good evening, Illéa!" Ruby said from her place on the stage. "I'm so happy to be here with you! I hope you all got your hands on this week's _Illéa Weekly_ , and that you got to know Princess Elisabeth's suitors a little better! And aren't they just so handsome?" she added, to one side, half whispering to the audience. A wave of chuckles answered her. "If you haven't already, I suggest getting one to read it, because Jade Reese and her crew did an amazing job!" She grinned. "Now, without further ado, let's have some recap of the past week."

On the giant screen behind her, selfies and pictures from the Ice Cream Museum date with Jericho showed up, and people _awwwed_. The only pictures of CJ and Eliza's date were the selfie Eliza had taken, with the big Hollywood letters in the background, and another one with the sunrise in the back. Then, Raphael and Eliza's date came up, and everyone clapped and cheered: there was the first official kiss – with proof in the picture – of the Selection. Eliza was glad they didn't show them doing the chocolate fight.

After that came some nice pictures of them playing with the kids at the Calgary Children's Hospital. It was heartwarming to see Jinhai and Jericho playing with the kids, and seeing Nikolai being all nervous around them. No pictures of Haruhito were seen, though. Eliza wasn't sure if it was for political reasons, or because him having a breakdown in the hospital was not the best publicity.

And last but not least, pictures of the dates with Rance and Kwasi.

"Princess Elisabeth," Ruby said, coming over to the Princess sitting in the middle of the double half-circle of boys, as always. "These all seemed like amazing dates. Do you have a favorite this week?"

Eliza felt her cheeks redden a little, but she quickly composed herself. "Uhm, honestly, I really enjoyed all of them. I can't say if I have a favorite, though." She chuckled. But she knew which one she had liked the least. Although she wouldn't say it out loud.

Ruby smirked. "I honestly don't know how you're going to make a choice, at the end."

"Me neither, Ruby. Me neither."

Ruby went back to the center of the stage. "Now, as you may all know, tomorrow is August third, and Eliza's twenty-fifth birthday. If you want to wish her a happy birthday tomorrow, use the hashtag # _happybirthdayeliza_ and write your message! The Selected have been working extra hard to get the Charity event ready for Her Royal Highness's birthday, and we can't wait to tell you all about it… next week! So stay tuned!" She paused. "But before we end our evening, King Oliver has an announcement for us. Your Majesty?" she said, inviting the King over.

"Good evening," he said, in his grave voice. "I would like to congratulate my daughter on her engagement."

The audience gasped.

The suitors gasped.

Even Eliza gasped. _What the hell?_

"Princess Emilia and Prince Kamran of the Iranian Empire are to be wed in a couple months." He turned to look at Emilia. He was kind enough not to smirk, but he saw Millie becoming white. She was paralyzed from the news. "Prince Kamran, accompanied by his half-brother Prince Arash, will be coming over to Illéa to make better acquaintance with my daughter." He smiled. "Please join me into congratulating them on this blessed news."

It took the audience a couple of seconds to react to the news. Ruby was the first one to realize what was happening, and started clapping. The audience followed, and the tech guys sent in the credits. It was the end.

* * *

 _ **Hey! so yeah, I finally finished this chapter. I really thought I would never get to the end... Thanks for your reviews, and for your support^^**_

 _ **Also, thanks to the Discord who gave me some words to add in the chapter (in bold):** Bluebird, pillow, cat, dinosaur, banana, k-pop, barista, weave, sister, dancing, queen, hemiola._

 _ **Thanks to all of those who sent me their OC's birthday gift to Eliza, I love how they're all unique and different! :D so thanks so much! if you still haven't sent me your idea, please do so quickly, because, they'll appear in the next chapter** (or the next, if I can't put everything in chap 33 lol) **. Just send through PM** (FF, Discord, or Pinterest, but please don't post them on your section...) **...**_

 _ **If you want to send a message** (as if you were an Illéan Citizen) **for Eliza's BD, please do so using the #happybirthdayeliza in PM or on discord! they will be used in the next chapters^^**_

 _ **okay, I think I said everything...! lol. See you soon!**_


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

"Congratulations on your engagement, Millie!" Rafe said, coming over and shaking her hand. "I bet you can't wait to meet your new fiancé," he said, winking. "I met him once or twice. Nice guy. I think." He chuckled and walked away and some of the boys also went to congratulate her, trying to keep the sarcasm out of their voices.

At the fourth boy who congratulated her, she exploded.

"Leave me the hell alone, you bunch of inconsiderate puffballs!" she yelled and walked over to her parents talking in angry hushed tones. "What the hell was that for?" she asked. Oliver and Elinor stopped talking and looked at her. She was practically as red as her hair.

"We can discuss this in my office, Emilia," Oliver said. He started to make for the door, but Millie didn't move.

"No. Here," she said.

Henri and Linus tried to make the guys leave the studio room as fast as possible, and other security hurried the audience out, to get their usual drinks in the room next door.

Eliza stayed behind, wanting to know what, indeed, the hell was happening.

Millie was standing, her arms crossed over her chest, waiting.

Oliver also waited for everyone to be out. He really didn't want to do this in front of everyone. He now felt how Eliza felt, as if the whole world was watching. When finally, they were the only ones in the studio – Elinor, him, Eliza, and Millie – he took a deep breath.

"They were the first ones to reach out to me," he said. "We never had a trade agreement with them, nor an alliance. At best, we were neutral. But with the war in which we will soon have to take part in, we needed to change that."

"They trade in oil and iron," Millie said, trying to keep her dignity. "What's that have to do with me?"

"You know we trade in pharmaceuticals and car parts and engines?"

"Yes, of course. So what?"

"We both need what the other has. And so, the Emperor, Farhad Ghorbani, proposed an alliance through marriage." He paused. "Being so close to the Mongasian war and knowing that New Asia had its eyes on them, they needed to protect their back."

"So you sold me into this stupid alliance? Why? They were afraid you would backtrack once they got attacked? So they made sure you would be there to protect _your daughter_?"

Oliver stared at her daughter. "Not quite."

Millie huffed. "I can't believe it. Why would you do this to me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"You want a list in chronological order? Or alphabetical?" Oliver said, sarcastically. "Millie. You need to learn your place. And marrying the second in line to the Iranian throne will do just that."

Millie glared at her father, then at her mother. Why hadn't she said anything? She thought Elinor was on her side. "Why didn't the Iranian Emperor – whatever his name is –send someone for Eliza's Selection, then? Why do they suddenly want a marriage?"

"Hassan, the Heir, is married to Prince Aleksander's cousin. And the others, well, they didn't want to go into another competition just yet. But they sent their best wishes."

"Another competition?" Millie asked, confused.

Oliver sighed. "The children of the Emperor all go through a competition and the five best are all the main heirs. I'm surprised you didn't know that." He paused. "The first three are married off for political reasons, and the first is already taken and heir to the throne. And being Heir, he couldn't compete for your sister, anyway." Millie still didn't say anything. "Kamran is a year older than you. I'm sure you two will get along fine."

Millie rolled her eyes and then said calmly: "You're going to regret this, father." She started heading outside. "Good thing you gave me two months before the wedding."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Saturday. A couple hours before the Charity Gala Event._**

After an hour spent with Kora – massaging, waxing, and all the rest of it – Eliza waited for Samantha in her room to help her get ready. Under strict orders from the boys, she couldn't leave her room until one of them – she didn't know who – would come to get her. Samantha arrived a couple minutes later with a royal-blue dress.

"Your suitors chose the dress, by the way," Samantha said, as if apologizing for the dress.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I believe there's a whole color theme, and you're part of it."

Eliza chuckled. "I can't wait to see what they did. They had what, a couple weeks?"

"Something like that, yes," Sam replied.

She helped Eliza in the dress, but the zipper wouldn't go up to the top: it got stuck in the middle of her back.

"Pardon me for asking, your highness," Sam said embarrassed, "but have you put on a few pounds?"

Eliza laughed. "Oh, my goodness. Uh, probably. They keep feeding me chocolate, and sweets and pizzas." She chuckled. "I think each date includes food."

"Oh, thank God," Samantha said, relieved, but still a bit red to the face. "I was afraid you were… pregnant."

"What? No! of course, not!" Eliza laughed nervously. "I've never- I mean-" she cleared her throat. "It's just probably a food baby."

"It's fine, milady," Samantha said, laughing at the _food-baby_. "I was just scared we were going to need to alter all your dresses."

"No no no… I'll just try to eat less."

Samantha chuckled. "We'll still need to do something about this dress, though. Can you tuck in your belly?"

Eliza tucked in her belly as much as she could, but still, the zipper wouldn't go up.

"Okay, I think I have an idea. Don't move." Samantha went to the walk-in closet and came back a minute later with a tight-looking corset.

"Uh, are you sure about that?" Eliza asked, eyeing the contraption. "I want to be able to breathe, you know?"

"I know. But women do it all the time. Don't worry." She helped Eliza take off the dress to put on the corset, and Samantha tightened it. "Okay, I think this should be enough."

"I can't breathe," Eliza said, a hand on her belly.

"You'll get used to it." Samantha tried closing the zipper and it went all the way up. "There! I told you it would work."

"But at what price?" she said sarcastically, trying to take a deep breath, but failing.

"It'll be fine, don't worry." Eliza then tried to sit – which was more difficult than expected with the corset – and Samantha brushed and curled the points of her hair. Then she placed a delicately designed tiara on her red hair.

"Is that necessary?" Eliza asked, referring to the tiara.

"Yes, Milady." She paused. "The Selected chose the tiara. too."

Eliza rolled her eyes and hoped that they weren't going to do a whole Disney themed Charity Gala. She really didn't want to be a Disney Princess. But looking at the dress and tiara, she might as well be Anastasia…

When she was ready, she tried walking around in her room and breathing with her corset. Deep breaths were impossible, so she'd have to try quick, small breaths. And eating was out of the question. With her organs crushed like that in the corset, there was no way she would be able to keep anything down.

The knock on the door made her jump, and since Samantha had already left for the evening, she went to open the door herself. A grinning Alek was standing behind the door.

"Your Highness," he said, bowing. "Would you care to join me?"

"Yes, I would," she said, smirking. She noticed he was wearing a blue suit.

"You'll know that several of us really wanted to come to get you, and since we couldn't come to an agreement, we had to decide between us by playing rock-paper-scissors. And I won." He grinned.

Eliza laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, very." He tried not to laugh, but then he laughed. "It's true though, we did play rock-paper-scissors."

"So… what's the plan, tonight?"

"Uhm, without revealing too much, it's going to be mostly eating, a couple speeches, more eating, drinking, and then maybe some dancing…" he winked at her. "By the way, may I have the first dance?"

"You may," she said. Thank goodness she was holding on to his arm to go down the stairs, because between the stilettos, the long folds of the dress, and the corset, she would have fallen at least twice.

They arrived in front of the closed doors of the small ballroom-turned-dining-room for the occasion.

"Okay. Are you ready?"

Eliza tried taking a deep breath – failing – and nodded. "Yeah. It can't be worse than the Introduction Ball, right?"

Alek chuckled. "No. Besides, you know all of us, now. No need to be nervous." He kissed her hand and nodded to the butler, waiting. He opened the door and announced the couple.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Elisabeth Regina Odelle Schreave of Illéa, accompanied by His Royal Highness, Prince Aleksander Yves Demitri Narsson of Swendway."

Eliza and Alek walked in, smiling. The twenty other suitors were lined up in two rows of ten, on each side of the entrance, clapping and smiling, like the rest of the guests. Eliza noticed all of the Selected were wearing blue suits. Not identical, but each in their own style. She met some of the guys' gazes and they grinned at her, proud to show her what they had organized in her honor.

Alek led her to a chair in the center of the table in the center of the room. But, oh how she hated to be the center of attention in a large group. She sat, Alek placing the chair under her. She expected him to sit next to her, but since he had already been the one to go and get her, two other suitors sat on either side of her: Tomlin to her left, and Sebastian to her right. The others sat all around the table, with Raphael and Caspian across from her. She was separated from them by white orchids going all the way from one end of the table, to the other.

King Oliver stood and held up his glass. "Before we start," he said, "I'd like to wish my daughter, and Heir to the Throne, a happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!" the guests repeated, lifting their glasses.

Right after that, footmen came in – practically in a choreography – to bring the first dish, arugula salad with blueberries and blue flowers in it, followed by a blue soup with croutons and some greenery on the side.

That's only when Eliza noticed – _really_ noticed – that the whole room, the decorations, and even the boys, were blue.

"So, a blue theme, huh?" she said, sipping her blue soup – which was the weirdest thing ever.

"Yes," Caspian said, smirking. "You'll see why, later."

Eliza nodded and continued sipping. She knew everyone had their eyes on her and the Selected, so she tried to act like the perfect Princess. At least she wouldn't be able to gorge herself with the food, thanks to her corset.

When all the dishes had been cleared away, one of the boys, Rafe, stood and went to the small stage on the side of the room. All eyes turned to him.

"Good evening," he said. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Rafe, and I'm one of the guys, over there, in blue." He chuckled. "So, first off," he said, lifting his glass, "Happy Birthday, Lizzy!" He drank bottoms up the rest of his wine and put the glass away. He took a deep breath. "I have to admit that preparing this event for Eliza was one obstacle course, you know? Try having twenty guys in one room finding ideas." He chuckled. "But we finally found an agreement, and we decided to honor the Princess with a Charity that would be dear to her heart."

He turned around and an image appeared behind him on a screen. In big blue letters, everyone could read _The Task Force for Global Health_.

"We knew Eliza had a special place in her heart for children and hospitals, so we decided to stay in that line." He checked his notes. "The Task Force is active in most countries in the world, and since we're all here representing different countries, we mashed all that together. So yeah." He paused. "For those who don't know, _The Task Force_ helps underserved populations, in the health area, and provides doctors and nurses for all who need health care, from babies, to kids, to adults and seniors." He grinned. "So thanks for coming tonight. All benefits of tonight's Gala will go to the Task Force in Illéa." He bowed his head, made a little twist on himself and walked back to his seat while everyone chuckled and applauded.

Eliza clearly was surprised when Rafe went up to make a small speech. He was the last on the list of probable public speakers, in her mind. Maybe he had lost a game of rock-paper-scissors? She chuckled as the main dish arrived on blue plates. The menu on the table said:

 _~ Blue Steak ~_

 _~ Blue Cheese sauce ~_

 _~ Blue Cabbage ~_

"Blue food, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Raph said. "And that was the worst idea, actually. Blue food is impossible to find, except for blueberries. Thank goodness I wasn't in the food group." He chuckled.

"You would've put chocolate in every dish," Tomlin said. "I don't think that would have been very healthy."

"Are you kidding?" Seb replied. "You know some great chefs have done complete seven-course menus adding chocolate in every dish? Belgian chocolate, mind you." He smirked at Raphael, who rolled his eyes.

"Please," Caspian said. "Don't start again."

"Oh, my God," Eliza said. "Are you two still debating on which chocolate is best?"

"Every. Single. Day," Tom and Caspian said at the same time, and everyone at that part of the table laughed.

After the main dish, another suitor, Henryk this time, went up to make another speech. He talked about what Eliza what doing with her hospital visits and how much she cared for her people, and for their health. He praised her dedication to whatever she set her mind on: her studies, her people, her happiness, her hospital visits. He then talked a bit more about what exactly _The Task Force for Global Health_ did, and showed numbers and charts.

Then came another dish, made of blueberries with something else, but Eliza couldn't eat anything else. Her corset was making it impossible. She wasn't feeling well.

"Hey, are you okay?" Raphael asked. Since he was across from her, he was the first to notice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied and nodded. She pushed the food around her plate, nibbling on a blueberry.

"No, you're not. Come on, you need some fresh air." Raphael stood

"No, Raph, sit down," she hissed. "If people see me going out with any of you, they'll start speculating."

"So? Let them speculate," he said. "You're as white as a ghost."

"What's the problem?" Tomlin asked, catching up on the conversation next to him.

"Nothing, everything's fine," Eliza said, picking another blueberry.

Tom looked at Raph, questioning him silently.

"She doesn't feel well, but she won't let me take her outside to breathe some fresh air." He sighed.

"I'm fine, seriously," she said. "I'll go breathe some air when it's less conspicuous to leave this room." She put a hand on her too-tight mid-section. "Don't worry about me."

The boys dropped the matter – for now – but kept an eye on her.

Three dessert dishes came in after that – first blueberry tarts, then blueberry and chocolate cupcakes, and finally a blue fruit salad – and then _finally_ , the guests were invited to go to the grand ballroom. Eliza quickly made a run for the balcony of the dining room and tried to take a deep breath, but failed again. And the meal was not helping. Her dress was even tighter than before.

She held on to the railing.

"Hey," a very familiar voice said, coming up behind her. "You okay?"

"Fine," she said, not turning around. She just couldn't lie to his face, now could she?

Raphael put a hand on her arm. "What's wrong, seriously?"

Eliza closed her eyes. "Have you ever worn a corset? No, of course not."

"A corset? Why on earth would you wear a corset? You're perfect!" he said.

Eliza looked up and met his hazel eyes. "Thanks. But I'm sorry to break it down to you, but I'm not. Especially not after eating tons of chocolate, macarons, pizzas, and other delicious food you guys feed me."

Raphael chuckled and came closer, tentatively putting his arm around her waist. "And if you take the corset off?" he asked gently.

"I can't close the dress," she replied, fighting not to roll her eyes.

"And if you wore a different dress?"

"Probably going to be the same problem." She laughed nervously. "Maybe we should go back in.

He nodded. "Okay. Uh, there's going to be dancing," he said. "Would you honor me with the first dance?"

Eliza cringed inwardly. "The second one? I already promised the first one to someone else…"

Raphael didn't say anything to that, and they both walked back inside. A music band was playing live on the stage.

"Is that _The Veronas_?" Eliza asked, forgetting all about her corset. "I can't believe it!"

Raphael chuckled. "Yeah. Henri told us you liked them."

"Like them? They're one of my favorite group! And how did he know that?"

Raphael shrugged.

The band was playing some songs, and people were already dancing. Pairs had been made, and people came to wish the Princess a happy birthday, take selfies with her, and chat for a minute or two. Most of the guests were Two's, celebrities, politicians, but some were total strangers that had enough money to come, fans of the Princess.

It had been Raphael's idea to invite random people, knowing how Eliza loved meeting new people and didn't care if they were Sevens, Fours, or Twos.

At some point, Alek came over and asked the Princess to dance. That's when Raphael realized who she had promised the first dance to, and a tiny seed of jealousy was sowed in his heart. He wanted the princess all for himself, but there were still twenty other guys in the competition. Because now, it was a competition. At least for Raphael.

He should have won that rock-paper-scissors fight to go get Eliza.

 **-x-x-x-**

It was five in the morning when Eliza finally headed back to her room. Tomlin escorted her, making sure she would make it there without any incident – not that she had drunk too much, because she had only drunk one glass, but she was exhausted.

"Would you mind unzipping?" she asked sleepily, fighting a yawn.

"Uh, sure," he replied. Tomlin, having some glasses of wine in his blood, fumbled with the zipper a little, but then managed to unzip the whole thing. He was quite surprised to find a tight corset underneath. "Uh, you want me to help you out of that thing, too?"

"Huh? Oh, the corset?" She yawned. "Just untie the laces. Please."

"Uh-huh." He swallowed, and obliged. His fingers fumbled again on the laces and Eliza let out a relieved breath when the corset loosened. "I can't believe you've been in that thing the whole time," he said softly. "No wonder you needed to breathe fresh air…"

"Yeah, well," Eliza said, shrugging. "I guess I have to stop eating chocolates and other sweets, from now on." She chuckled awkwardly, holding her dress and corset on her. But Tomlin didn't go. Instead, he gently pushed her hair away from her shoulder and planted there, in the crook of her neck, a tiny kiss, as light as a feather. Eliza's skin burned under his lips, and she didn't know what to do.

Surreptitiously, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again on the neck. He might be two years younger than her, but it didn't matter. The woman he held in his arms was perfect. In his eyes, at least.

Still holding on to her dress and corset, Eliza turned around in Tomlin's arms and stared at his teal-blue eyes. And before she could do anything else, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers, tasting them for the first time in real life – because he had imagined it several times, let's be honest. He kept one arm around her waist, his fingers gently stroking her bare back, and the other cupping her cheek.

Eliza kissed him back, but kept holding on to her dress. If she didn't, it would fall to the ground, and she wasn't ready for that, yet. When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, catching his breath. She searched for his lips again, and he happily obliged. But feeling as though his pants were getting tighter and tighter, and both were tired and half-drunk – at least on his part – he finished kissing her, bid her good night, and walked out.

Lest they would do something they would both regret later…

* * *

 **Hiii! I hope you enjoyed this Blue-Themed chapter!**

 **I decided not to add the gift-giving for Eliza's birthday in this chapter, since there were already lots of things happening, so it'll be in the next chapter. And if you still want to have your OC giving something to Eliza, let me know!^^** _(PM on FF, Discord, or Pinterest)_ **.**

 **There are only 4 first-dates left, and then Eliza will eliminate a group of guys... so... yeah. _Ce sont les règles du jeu_ , as would Raphael say. xD**

 **Thanks for reviewing, reading and supporting my crazy writing! See you soon!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

When Eliza opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. She checked the time: eight o'clock. She had slept only two or three hours, so she decided to try to fall asleep again. She dozed off a few times during the next couple hours, but decided she couldn't fall asleep anymore, and it was already ten a.m.

She reached for her phone on her nightstand and went through the feeds.

"Oh yeah, right!" she mumbled to herself, seeing the hashtag #happybirthdayeliza all over the place. She read some of the message, and tried to reply to some, too.

-.-

 **MillyBear** : #happybirthdayeliza just tell me if the New Asian prince likes writing. I need it for a conspiracy theory.

 **PrincessEliza** : _replying to **MillyBear**_ : Uhm, I don't know. I can ask him, though.

-.-

 **amanda_078** : #happybirthdayeliza OMG happy birthday your highness!

 **PrincessEliza** : _replying to **amanda_078**_ : Thank you!

-.-

 **SevenGreen** : #happybirthdayeliza Yo is the New Asian Prince author of Tales Untold?

 **PrincessEliza** _: replying to **SevenGreen**_ : Good question. Why is everyone asking this?

-.-

 **AdrielWLAlfayage** : #happybirthdayeliza Happy Birthday Your Highness

 **PrincessEliza** : _replying to **AdrielWLAlfayage**_ : OMG thank you so much! I'm reading Tales Untold, and it's amazing!

-.-

 **QueenKay200** : #happybirthdayeliza The moment when you learn about foreign royalty because your online friends start conspiracies via Tweeter _

 **PrincessEliza** : _replying to **QueenKay200**_ : nice to meet you too…?

-.-

 **NotPrincessRikoOfMikasa** : Happy birthday Erisabesu Sleeve! #happybirthdayeliza

 **PrincessEliza** : _replying to **NotPrincessRikoOfMikasa**_ : Uhm, thanks? ^^'

-.-

And on and on it went. She liked all the messages, but didn't reply to all. It would take too much time. Mistress Pebbles climbed on the bed, seeing that her Human was awake, and meowed.

"Yes, I'm hungry, too," she said. "Come on, let's get ready and find ourselves some sustenance." She yawned and after doing a detour to the bathroom, headed to her walk-in closet. And since it was Saturday and she didn't have any public appearance planned, she decided to wear a grey capri-pants with a white shirt and cardigan, paired with some white ballerina flats, and a messy bun.

"Come on, Pebbles," she said, carrying the grey cat in her arms. When she opened the door, she saw red rose petals on the floor, with a little paper sign saying _Follow the trail…_ She chuckled and followed the rose petals. It led her down the stairs to the second floor and down one of the wings. She wondered in which Selected's room she was going to end up in. The trail stopped in front of a door. And from what Eliza remembered, it was not a bedroom, but rather an unused boudoir or something. She stood behind the door and listened. There were hushed tones, but she couldn't understand anything that was said. She knocked three times.

"Come in!" someone said, and she recognized Adrien's voice.

So she pushed the door open, and all the boys were in there, sitting around couches, armchairs or chairs, or simply just standing around. They all grinned.

"Happy Birthday!" they said in unison.

Eliza laughed. "What is going on here? My birthday was yesterday."

"Yeah, we know that," Adrien said. "But with the Gala and all, it was impossible to squeeze a little private party for you. So we thought that today would be the best." He flashed her a smiled.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet!"

"Did you have breakfast, yet?" Rafe asked.

"No. I followed the trail, instead of going to the dining room."

"Good," he said. "Because we have everything you need here." Several boys stepped aside from where they were standing, revealing a table covered with breakfast goodies.

Eliza smiled. "That's very thoughtful." She followed Rafe to the chair at the head of the table, and the boys sat all around the table. "You haven't eaten, either?" she asked them.

"No. We were waiting for you."

"That was risky," Eliza said, helping herself to some fruit salad. "What if I had slept until three this afternoon?"

"Then we probably would have eaten breakfast without you," Quin said, stuffing some croissant in his mouth. Clearly, he was starved. They all were, and Eliza felt a little bad for coming in this late. But it was only like 10.30… so…

After everyone had had their fill of breakfast – Eliza skipped the cinnamon rolls, to the surprise of everyone but Tomlin – Adrien stood and clinked his knife on his glass, demanding everyone's attention.

"As is it- _was_ your birthday, you are under strict rules to receive presents."

"What?" Eliza said. "No, I-"

"Nonsense," Adrien cut her. "Normal people get presents for their birthday, and you are no different." The whole group moved to the sitting area and Eliza made herself comfortable on an armchair, with Mistress Pebbles curled up on her lap, and her legs tucked under her. All the boys sat around her, either on the floor or on seats around the room, and Quin was the first one to give her his present.

Eliza carefully unwrapped the paper, and discovered two objects inside: a phone case with a little pocket on the side – "Because Eliza without pockets is not Eliza," Quin had said – and a pink and black bow for Mistress Pebbles.

"Aw, that is so cute!" Eliza exclaimed. She tried putting the bow on Mistress Pebbles, but the cat wouldn't let her. She only wanted to play with the shiny new toy.

Next up was a gift from Henryk, Kwasi, and CJ. It was a beautiful wooden box with all sorts of handmade sweets in it. She chuckled and thanked them all. She didn't tell them, though, that she was trying to eat less.

Then Jericho gave her a perfectly cubic box, wrapped with a yellow bow. Inside was a yellow Polaroid Camera. "You'll be able to document the Selection a bit differently," he said. "You'll have real pictures, and not only on your phone."

Eliza laughed and thanked him, and suggested they all took a picture right now. Alek went to look for a staff member and came back a couple minutes later. The footman took a picture of Eliza and all the boys. It was the first picture with everyone. And she was going to treasure it.

After Jericho came Caspian. He offered her pale pink origami peonies bouquet he had made himself, with tiny turquoise hummingbirds seeming to float above the flowers, held in place by silver wire.

"Oh, my goodness," Eliza said, inspecting the flowers. "These are so beautiful. Did you actually make them?"

"Yes," he said, grinning.

"I'm curious to know how much time one takes to make…" she said, gently running a finger over the delicate paper petals.

"Something like forty-five minutes each."

"Wow," she said. "I don't think I would have had the patience. Thank you very much, Caspian."

He smiled and nodded, and then Nikolai gave her his gift, a bouquet of real dark pink peonies.

Adrien laughed. "At least Caspian's won't wither." The others laughed, too.

"Niko, they're beautiful. Thank you." She motioned for him to come closer, as if she was going to tell him a secret, but instead, she just planted a light kiss on his cheek. He turned as red as the peonies when everyone whistled and cheered at him. He quickly made his way to the back of the group, next to Jericho.

Hans then gave her another painting he had made for her, again in the grey and yellow hues. It was a forest, seen from within, with the treetops meeting at one point, the sun. Eliza praised his talent and promised to hang it in her room, not too far from the other one.

Rance was next in line. "So, my present isn't really tangible," he started. "I, uh. I dedicated a portion of rainforest and a mountain back in New Zealand in your honor. I had an animal sanctuary and rehabilitation center for the at-risk wildlife, that I will personally keep track of." He paused. "I named it _The Eliza Schreave Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary_. I know it's kinda a long name. And I also opened a foundation in your name, which is dedicated to helping the environment and the animals. This one is just called the _Eliza Schreave Worldwide Foundation_."

He gave her two picture frames with the official naming and opening dates of the two new foundation and center in her name, with a small booklet of pictures.

"How long have you been working on this?" Eliza asked. "This doesn't take only a couple days to do."

He stuffed his fists in his pockets and shrugged. "Since I came here. I knew your birthday was coming up in August, and I wanted to do something special. Something lasting."

"This is really awesome," Eliza said. "And this will give me a reason to go to New Zealand one day, soon."

Rance chuckled and sat back on a free seat.

Otávio was next, and he offered her a big empty picture frame he had made himself, with strings attached from one side to the other, covered in tiny cloth pins. "It's to put your pictures on it," he said. "I didn't know Jericho was giving you a Polaroid camera, but you can hang those pictures here."

Eliza took the now-ready picture of them all they had taken earlier and hung it with a tiny cloth pin on the picture frame. "It's perfect! I can't wait to take more pictures!" Everyone chuckled and she put the frame to the side.

Latreall, Sebastian, and Adrien gave her a box of _Belgian_ chocolates – "Because life is like a box a chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get," Sebastien said – which made Tomlin chuckle, because he knew about her not wanting to gain any more weight.

Jinhai gave her a box of rose-scented macarons, and Eliza ate one of them, offering the rest to all who wanted some. Half the box was emptied.

Rama gave her a plush tiger cub, which was the exact same size as his baby tiger, Brahmasta. But that was kind of a joke, because he really wanted to bring his own tiger for the day but King Oliver said no. The real gift was a padparasha necklace – a kind of pink sapphire – on a white gold chain, presented in a lotus flower made of amethyst and jade. It was the most delicately made jewel box Eliza had ever owned.

"The stones come from Bengal, and I asked my sister to ship this for me. She wishes you a happy birthday, too."

"Thank you," she said. "I'll wear it next time we have a formal event." She carefully put the amethyst box away, making sure nothing would knock it over and put the plush tiger next to it.

Cian gave her a blue Pettsie Collar for Mistress Pebbles with a matching bracelet for her, and a map of Illéa to put pictures of her travels, as she visits the Provinces. Haruhito gave her a funny present, more for Mistress Pebbles, though. It was one of those weird cat gachapon hats from New Asia, and Eliza tried it on her cat. Pebbles froze.

" stopped working," Caspian said, and everyone laughed. Haruhito then gave one for Vasavi, one for Shadow, and one for Adern. All cats stopped working, and it was pretty hilarious.

They took off the cat hats and the cats all fled to a corner of the room, away from the crazy humans.

Haruhito then gave Eliza the second book of Tales Untold. "I saw you were reading the first one," he said. "so I had the second one sighed for you."

Eliza opened the book on the first page, and true enough, Adriel W. L'Alfayage had signed the book.

 _~.~_

 _Princess Elisabeth, Happy Birthday!_

 _I hope you will enjoy the second book, too!_

 _Adriel W. L'Alfayage_

 _~.~_

"Haruhito," Eliza said. "How on earth did you get the author to sign the book?"

He shrugged. "I'm a Prince. I can do anything."

Jinhai chuckled and ruffled his black hair. "You're cute," he said.

Raphael was the next one to give her a birthday gift. It was a chocolate watch.

"Oh, cool. More chocolate… for my birthday." She tried slipping it on her wrist but was afraid to break it.

"Oh no, no, no," Raphael said. "That's not the real gift. It's just a little joke." He chuckled. "This is my real gift." He handed her a small box, and inside was a beautiful watch with Swarovski crystals all around it, and bottle green stones inside, with a green heart hidden in the midst. "I thought, since you always check the time on your phone and never wear a watch, that I'd give you a Swiss personalized watch." He grinned, proud of his idea.

"Thank you," she said.

Seeing that she wanted to put it on her wrist, he crouched in front of her. "Here, let me help you," he said softly, and fastened the watch on her wrist. His fingered lingered a moment, and their gazes met. "With that, you'll think of me when you check the time." He winked and stood to the side.

"Okay, my turn," Rafe said, coming over with a small package. Eliza opened it and found a really cute mermaid charm bracelet. "I made the bracelet, but not the charms, of course," he said, "but all the materials used on it come from South Africa."

"That's really nice!" she said. "But why a mermaid?"

He chuckled. "Well, you see, it's because it reminded me of Ariel, and Ariel of you. With the red hair and all."

Eliza chuckled. "Thank you," she held out her other wrist, the one without the watch, and Rafe fastened it on her.

"Now, my second gift is kinda for Pebbles, too." He pulled a huge-looking thing covered in a white sheet. He pulled the white sheet off, revealing a ginormous cat tree. "It's made from two trees I cut down myself – with the landscapers' permission, of course – and planted two others in their place that I named after you and Pebbles."

Eliza stood and walked around the cat tree. Some of the posts were wrapped in jute rope for the cat to scratch her claws, and there was some green stuff, that Rafe said was rubbed in catnip. At the bottom was a golden cat bed all embroidered in fancy lettering _Mistress Pebbles_. He didn't tell her it was the second bed he made, since he had bled all over the first one after cutting his hand when embroidering.

Eliza went to get Mistress Pebbles and put her on the top of the cat tree. The three other cat boys went to get their pets, and also placed them on the cat tree. They laughed and chatted about how cats usually don't like fancy things like that.

"The secret," Rafe said, "is to not show them the box in which it was in. So they don't know otherwise."

When the whole group got tired of the cats, Alek presented a long-looking box to Eliza, both palms upward. She placed the box on her lap and opened it. She gasped.

"Are you serious?"

"What is it?" Adrien asked

"A sword!" she said, grinning and taking it out of the box.

"Not any kind of sword," Alek said. "I designed it and had an expert forge it, back in Swendway."

"Really?" The Princess was truly amazed by this gift.

"Yeah. Ever since our first date, I've wanted to give you a sword." He grinned sheepishly. He cleared his throat. "The stones are rubies, the handle is made of gold, and the hilt is made of steel." There was also a decorated leather sheath she could wear to carry it around. "But before you start using this one for fencing, we're going to practice with this one," he said, smirking. He handed her a wooden sword, and everyone laughed.

"And last but not least," Tomlin said, coming over. He gave her a key. "Here you go, Your Highness."

Eliza took the key. "Uh, what does it open?"

"If you'll follow me, Milady," he said. Eliza followed him out of the door, the whole group of guys in tow. "Uh, no. Only the lady," Tomlin said. "You can see it later, if she lets you."

Some of the boys were offended but this refusal to see his gift. Everyone had given his in front of the whole group.

"She'll show it to you later," he said again. "I just want her to see it without everyone commenting on it." He glared at the boys and Tom and Eliza walked outside.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

He took her hand. "At the edge of the royal forest," he said. They walked in silence for a bit.

"About last night," Eliza started, not really sure what to say. "I hope you haven't told anyone about, the, uh-"

"Kiss?" he prompted.

"I was going to say corset, but that too."

Tomlin chuckled. "I haven't told anyone about any of these things. I'm pretty sure I'd end up dead, with my throat slit, if some knew about last night."

"What? Who?"

He shrugged. "I'm not going to give you any names, but you should know some are starting to take the competition pretty seriously."

Eliza smirked. "Finally. It all looked like a big summer camp to me."

Tomlin laughed. "That's what it felt like, until a few days ago. With two eliminations and an official kiss for people to comment on, the competition has gone up a whole new level."

"Are you, though?"

"What?"

"Taking this seriously?"

"Are you kidding? Of course, I am." He paused. "I've never been more serious about anything, to be honest."

Eliza blushed a little. Then, she looked up in front of her and saw where Tomlin was taking her. "Oh wow," she said. "Is that-"

"Yep. A tree house. With a spiral staircase." He grinned. "I wanted to put a pull-up ladder, but Mister Linus said it had to have stairs." He rolled his eyes. "This guy is no fun. You know that, right?"

Eliza laughed. "It's part of his job description."

"Would you like to go see inside?"

"Definitely."

"All right, Ladies first, then." He bowed to her, indicating the stairs, and Eliza climbed the wooden stairs, all the way to the top. Tomlin joined her a few seconds later. Eliza turned the key in the front door, and grinned when she saw the inside. It was lit with fairy lights, and the floor was covered in blankets and pillows.

"This is amazing," she said, softly. "I've always dreamed of having a tree house when I was a kid, but of course, my dad never had the time nor the skills to build one."

Tomlin hovered in the doorframe. "Well, this is your place. And you can bring whoever you want here. You have the key, so you're the boss. And for your children, too, one day," he added, a little embarrassed. He was leaning on the doorframe, his thumbs in his pockets.

Eliza walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. He responded quickly with his arms around her frame. "Thank you," she said. "This is really special to me."

He grinned and pushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, and behind her ear. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

She smiled and leaned in, kissing him first, this time.

They were still in the doorframe, kissing each other when a voice made them jump apart.

"Hey! It's not fair! What if we also wanted a kiss?!" It was Rafe.

They looked over the tree house balcony and saw a bunch of guys down there, looking up. Tomlin and Eliza exchanged a look and laughed.

"How many people can this tree house support at a time?" she asked.

"I don't know. Three or four adults, maybe."

She and Tomlin walked down the stairs. "You can go up and see, three at a time," Eliza said. "You have two minutes. Oh, and take off your shoes."

"Just so you know," Tomlin said, "this is Eliza's private sanctuary. Under no circumstance can you go in there without her consent. Am I clear?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Adrien said, saluting.

Three by three the boys went up to take a look. Then Eliza checked the time on her new watch, and thought of Raphael. She looked around, but he wasn't there. Neither was Alek… and some others, too.

* * *

 _ **Hiiiii haha so here's yet another chapter! Since it's not really plot-filled or anything, but just the guys giving their gifts to Eliza** (THANKS bth to those who gave me ideas, for the rest, I improvised) **, so think of this chapter as "Part II" of the previous chapter. I wrote it in all one afternoon, lol. and don't forget to go check the AESTHETIC board! :D**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed it, and can't wait to read your reviews and thoughts^^**_

 _ **see ya later!**_


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

At ten o'clock sharp, Monday morning, the two awaited guests arrived at the Angeles Palace. Prince Kamran Gharbani and Prince Arash Gharbani, both half-brothers and sons to the Iranian Emperor, walked in the great hall, where everyone was waiting for them. The King, the Queen, Millie, and Eliza with her twenty-one suitors.

"Welcome to Illéa, Your Royal Highnesses," King Oliver said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," they replied in unison, bowing. They had made the effort to wear eastern clothes, and their suits were crisp and perfectly tailored.

Emilia was standing to the side, trying to make herself as little as possible. She still couldn't believe her father was marrying her off. But she was ready to wreak havoc as much as she could before leaving. And then what? She would be married to the second in line to the throne of an _Emperor_. If something would happen to the Heir – say he _died_ tragically – she would be Empress. And Eliza would have to bow to her. She snorted. Clearly, daddy Oliver hadn't thought this through.

But for now, she was still waiting for her three guys – the agents she had hired – to send her their reply. She had asked them to give whatever they had found, ASAP.

"Prince Kamran, Prince Arash," Oliver say. "This is my daughter, princess Elisabeth," he said, presenting the Heir, first.

Eliza came up to the princes, and curtsied. Kamran bowed respectfully, but Arash took her hand and kissed it.

"My wife, Queen Elinor," he continued, to which both Princes bowed, "and my other daughter, Princess Emilia."

For the very first time, Emilia looked at Kamran. She had refused to look at any picture of the man, until now. But when she saw him, even she had to admit that her stomach made a summersault. But she hid her emotions, like she always did.

"Your Highness," she said coldly, holding out her hand.

Instead of shaking her hand like she had intended it, he took it in his, and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles, trying to hide a smirk.

Arash tried not to roll his eyes. And that's when he saw Rama. He smiled and nodded at his long-time-no-see friend. Oliver invited Prince Kamran and his brother to get some drinks with everyone in the gardens.

As soon as they could, Arash and Rama walked up to each other. Rama held out his hand to the Iranian Prince.

"Are you kidding me?" Arash said with a light accent. Instead, he hugged Rama. "It's been so long since the last time I saw you, my friend!" he said.

"You two know each other?" Eliza asked, coming over.

"Oh, yeah," Rama said. "We kind of grew up together, until we were then years old."

"That's interesting," she said, smiling.

"Your Highness-"

"Just call her Eliza," Rafe said. "She hates it when we call her _Your Highness_ and all."

"Uh, okay?" he said, looking at Eliza for confirmation. She nodded and chuckled. "Okay, then. Eliza." He felt a little embarrassed about this. "Uh, I just wanted to let you know that I would have wanted to join your Selection. But Hashem, our Military leader, didn't let me."

"Oh, well…" Eliza started saying.

"But I'm very curious to know how all this will end."

"You can join the competition if you want," Quin said. "I mean, what's one more guy in the middle of us all, right?"

"Yeah!" Rafe said. "You'll see, it's like a big summer camp." He laughed. "But we're taking bets on who will win Eliza's heart."

Eliza snorted. "You're taking bets, now?"

Rafe grimaced. "You weren't supposed to know that. Can we keep him? Please?" Rafe wrapped his arm around the new prince's shoulders. "I can vouch for him, he's really nice and all," he added. Rafe had mentioned meeting the Iranian princes once or twice to Millie…

"I guess as long as he's here with his brother…"

"Yes!" Rafe said.

Rama punched Arash in the arm. "Welcome to _Crazyland_ , Arash."

Arash chuckled nervously. "As long as you don't mind, Your Hi- Eliza."

She shrugged. "Why not? I'm almost done with the first round of first dates. I can squeeze you in my schedule."

"Are you serious?" Raphael said. "That's against the rules. He wasn't here from the start."

"What did we tell you, Raph?" Alek said, nudging him in the ribs.

"Rules are meant to be broken," he and Tomlin said at the same time.

Raphael made a face. "Very funny."

"Aw, stop being such a pouting boy," Eliza said, wrapping her arm around Raphael's. "They're right. _Some_ rules are meant to be broken. And since Arash will be here for a few days, why not welcome him in the Selection? _My_ Selection. So I can do what I want." She winked.

Raphael raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He had the girl of his dreams holding on to him, right now, and he didn't want to blow it.

"See him?" Rafe said to Arash, pointing at Raphael and Eliza who headed outside to go get some drinks, followed by some of the guys. "He's pretty high on the betting list."

Arash nodded. "You people are crazy."

"I told you this was _Crazyland_ ," Rama said.

Arash laughed. "Okay, tell me about the others? Who are the runner ups in the bets?"

"Tom and Alek, Seb and Caspian. They're also pretty much at the top," Rafe said. "I haven't had a date yet, so I'm pretty low. But once I do, I'm going right in first place."

"Then they're the gays," Rama said. "They weren't all gay before coming here, but I guess everyone discovers something new about themselves all the time."

The trio then went outside and stayed on the steps. Rafe and Rama – usually not really friendly towards each other, found common ground over Arash – pointed out the guys and told a little about them to Arash. After a little while, Rafe got bored of this game and went to get himself a drink.

"You knew Rafe?" Rama asked Arash.

"Met him once. A long time ago." Arash chuckled. "It's really good to see you, Rama."

"Yeah, you too." They stood there, silent, for a long moment, until they decided to also get some drinks.

 **-x-x-x-**

After lunch, Eliza went back to her room to get ready for her date, but she still had some time before Otávio came to get her. Not knowing really what to expect of their date, since he hadn't told her where they would be going or what they would do, she opted for a comfortable outfit, with sneakers, and of course, pockets to put her phone in.

She sat on the couch, and there was a knock on the door. If was way earlier than what he had told her. But when she opened the door, it was Rafe. With Draco in his arms.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"Uhm, remember when Draco ate bath salts?"

"Yeah…?" she said, cringing, since it kind of had been her fault.

"Well, Draco's not getting any better. You uh," he trailed off. "You said you knew a good vet?"

Eliza nodded. "Yeah. Come in," she said, inviting Rafe inside. She took out her phone and looked for Kora's number.

"Hello?"

"Kora? Hi. It's me, Eliza."

"Your Highness- I mean, Eliza. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, one of the animals here ate something pretty bad a couple days ago, and he's not getting any better."

"Oh. You want me to give you Kyle's number?" Kora asked.

"Or you could come along with him?"

"Now? I mean, today?"

Eliza looked at Rafe and Draco, who really didn't look well. "As soon as possible. If not today, then tomorrow first thing in the morning?"

Rafe shook his head. "I don't think he's gonna hold on until tomorrow, he said."

"Kora, uh, ASAP. The ferret is really unwell."

"Okay," Kora said. "We'll come in as fast as we can."

"Thanks. You can come in through the servant's door, like always. I'll tell them you're coming."

She ended the call and patted Draco's soft head. "I'm really sorry about the bath salts," Eliza said.

Rafe shrugged helplessly. "I really didn't think he would get this sick. I mean he did eat some weirder stuff before."

"It's gonna be okay," she said.

Rafe nodded. It was the first time she saw him this unsure. He was always loud and confident, but not anymore.

A few minutes later, Otávio came knocking, surprised to see Rafe there.

"Are you ready?" he asked Eliza.

"Yeah." She smiled, and Rafe left the room at the same time, cradling poor Draco in his arms.

"What's the matter with him?" Otávio asked.

"His ferret is sick. He ate bath salts the other day, and he's not getting better. I called a vet I know."

"Oh. I hope he gets better. Because that little thing is really cute."

Eliza chuckled and they headed outside, where the black car was waiting for them. Linus drove for twenty minutes before climbing on a nearby hill.

"Where are we going?" Eliza asked.

"Hiking. But don't worry, from what I read, it's not a hard trail. Just a couple hours."

Linus stopped the car in a parking lot where there were other cars already. Otávio took a bag from the trunk, where there were two bottles, and some snacks in case they needed any.

They started on the trail, Linus and Ruby following behind, far enough to give them privacy.

"You often come out here?" she asked. "I mean, not _here_ here, but like on forest trails, back in the Brazilian Districts?"

He nodded. "Yes. I like to wander on my own in God's creation. But I'm never alone, you know?"

"How so?"

"God's always with me. I can see him in every tree, in every flower, in everything, actually."

Eliza smiled. She wished it could be this simple. "You really believe it," she said, stating a fact.

"Yes, I do."

They were silent for a moment, with only the bird songs and the leaves crushing under their feet. There was a welcome light breeze and sun rays were passing through the tree leaves.

"I have to admit that this is very peaceful," she said softly, afraid to break the silence. "Away from everything, and the noise."

Otávio smiled and nodded. "Yes. When I walk in the forest, I usually try to find a nice spot. I sit there, sometimes for a long time, and just talk to God."

"He talks back?"

"Of course, he does."

"How?"

"Through His Word," he said, patting his pocket where his worn Bible was. "I pray, and I listen. Sometimes I have a verse or a bible story that comes to mind, and I look for it. And I read it. And sometimes, it's exactly what I needed to hear."

They walked some more and then found a nice big rock to sit on. It was big enough for Eliza to actually lie down, with her feet dangling on the side. She laced her fingers over her belly and closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze blow her hair away. She smiled.

Otávio sat there, watching the Princess. If she was showing no signs of nervousness around him, he was definitely nervous. It was his first date with someone. He had never really taken the time for relationships before now.

"What is God telling you, now?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Otávio chuckled. "I don't know yet." He closed his eyes and listened to the wind.

"Well, does he speak to you every time?"

"No. He speaks when he wants to. And if I listen. Sometimes he speaks and I don't listen."

"Why not?"

"Pride, I guess. Sometimes I don't want him to speak to me, because I know exactly what he's going to say." He chuckled, and they were silent for another moment. But it didn't feel like an awkward silence. More like a reverential silence.

Eliza heard him leafing through the pages of his bible. Pausing. Leafing again.

"You want me to read something?" he suddenly asked.

"Yeah." She grinned and sat up on her elbows. "Wait, in Portuguese?"

He chuckled. "No, I downloaded a Bible App on my phone. In English."

"Sure."

"You probably already heard this text, but I love to read it when I'm in the middle of nature."

Eliza nodded and leaned back down, closing her eyes to listen.

 _"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want._

 _He makes me lie down in green pastures._

 _He leads me beside still waters._

 _He restores my soul._

 _He leads me in paths of righteousness_

 _For his name's sake._

 _Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,_

 _I will fear no evil,_

 _For you are with me;_

 _Your rod and your staff,_

 _They comfort me._

 _You prepare a table before me_

 _In the presence of my enemies:_

 _You anoint my head with oil;_

 _My cup overflows._

 _Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me_

 _All the days of my life._

 _And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord_

 _Forever."_

Silence surrounded them for a moment, both meditating on the words.

"Psalm 23, right?" Eliza finally asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Can I ask you something?" she said, and when he nodded, she continued. "How did you know you were going to be a Pastor? Was it because your father was one? or because you had a _calling_?"

Otávio didn't answer right away, looking for the right words to explain. "My father taught me about God, and the Bible, and how to understand it. He taught me and my sisters to fear God." He paused. "He taught me many other things, and by the time I was old enough, I had a strong knowledge of the Bible. And thanks to my education, the Head Pastor of my District heard of me and asked me to become his Assistant."

"Your dad seems to be like a really cool dad."

"He was," Otávio corrected. "He died several years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"You couldn't have known," he said softly. "He, uh, hanged himself. I was the one who found him."

"Oh, my goodness," Eliza said. "That must have been terrifying. I'm so sorry."

"It was. Only me and my mother know about this. The rest of the world, my little sisters included, think it was a heart attack."

Again, both were silent. The dancing tree branches and bird songs filled the air.

"What about you?" Otávio said, changing the subject. "You always wanted to be Queen?"

She snorted. "As if I had a choice in the matter." She sat up. "I didn't choose to be born first, to be honest."

"Maybe not, but you were born for it. And a damn good Queen you're going to be too."

"You just say that."

He looked at her. "It's true. You know, I like sitting on the side of an event and observing. And what I saw tells me you're making an excellent job."

"Maybe that's why it's so hard," she said. "I _am_ a Princess, and one day a Queen. But I take it as a job. When it's supposed to be what I am."

"No, you're much more than that," he said. "Queens don't necessarily take the time to visit hospital or sign autographs, or take selfies with people."

"So that makes me, what? A celebrity?"

"It makes you the perfect Queen, Eliza. And trust me when I say no one can do it better than you."

"Speaking of selfies, let's take one."

He nodded. After that, they talked some more, but then it was time to head back home.

 **-x-x-x-**

When they arrived at the palace, the boys were nowhere to be found. The gardens or the Men's Parlor were their usual hanging out spots, but the palace seemed deserted.

"Where is everyone?" Eliza asked a maid walking by with a tray.

"In the infirmary, Milady."

"Oh, my God! Is someone hurt?" she asked, worried.

"No, I don't believe so," the maid replied. "It was for an animal."

"Draco," Eliza said, heading to the infirmary.

"Rafe's ferret?" Otávio asked, following her.

"Yeah. He wasn't well, earlier this afternoon, remember?"

"Right."

The two of them finally walked into the crowned infirmary room. Every single one of the Selected was here, including Arash, and two others: Kora and Kyle, her vet brother.

"How is he?" Eliza asked, elbowing her way through the boys to the bed where everyone had huddled around.

"Fine, I think," Rafe said. "But it wasn't the bath salts."

"What was it?" she asked.

"Rat Poison."

"What?! Where on earth would he find something like that in the Palace?"

Kyle Miller lifted his head from bending over the small body of Draco. "I don't know, Your Highness," he said coldly. "But unless there are rats in the Palace, which I doubt, I'm guessing someone was targeting the animals."

"Kyle, watch your tongue," Kora hissed.

Her brother shrugged, continuing his work on the little white furry animal. There was a tube going down its throat, and he seemed to be sleeping.

"What are you doing to him?" Eliza said. "Is he dead?"

Kyle sighed and looked up. "You know, I work much better when I don't have twenty pairs-"

"Twenty-four pairs of eyes," Kwasi corrected him.

Kyle glared at him. "Twenty-odd pairs of eyes watching me."

"Okay. Everyone, get out," Rafe said.

"No, you can stay," he said to Rafe. "It's your animal."

Rafe nodded his thanks and pushed everyone outside. Including Kora.

Eliza took Kora to the side. "All ferret drama aside," the princess whispered, "how did your brother act around the Selected?"

Kora snorted. "You should have seen his face when I told him you wanted his services as a vet. He was happy at first, thinking he'd see you and take care of your new cat. But when he found out it was to resurrect one of the Selected's ferret, he… how do I put this…" she trailed off, thinking. "He closed off and talked to them very coldly. I don't think he snapped, but I feel if one of them said something about how he did his work, he would snap."

"Shoot. I said something about his work."

"Yeah," Kora shrugged. "But thank goodness it was you. Had it been one of them," she said, jerking her chin in their direction," he would have lashed out and walked away." She paused, eyeing the selected talking in groups. "That one's pretty hot, I have to say," she added.

"You're going to have to be more specific, Kora."

"Uh, what's his name again… The English guy?"

Eliza laughed. "Tomlin?"

"Yeah. Him. The one you went to the Music Festival with."

Eliza tried not to laugh more, but she smirkd. She leaned close to Kora's ear. "He's a really good kisser, by the way."

Kora's jaw dropped. "I can't believe you just said that," she hissed, grinning. "How many did you kiss?"

"Three," Eliza said proudly, crossing her arms over her chest.

" _Only_ three? Damn Eliza. If I had a group of guys like that fighting for me, I'd have all kissed them by now, if not more."

"Yeah, well, I'm a Princess. I can't really do that-"

"He's alive!" Rafe said, coming through the door, holding his precious ferret against his chest. "This guy is a genius!" he said, pointing at the infirmary with his thumb. The guys all huddled around Rafe and his pet.

Kora and Eliza headed back to see Kyle.

"Congratulations," Kora said. "I think you made yourself a friend," she said slyly.

Kyle rolled his eyes and put his things away.

"Very funny, Kora," he snorted. Then he looked at Eliza and gave her a nasty look.

"Look, I'm sorry I said anything, earlier. Clearly, you knew what you were doing…" she trailed off, and Kyle shrugged.

"It's fine," he said.

"No it's not, and I apologize." She paused. "I was worried for my cat, actually. Is Rat poison lethal for a cat?"

He sighed. "It depends on the weight of your cat, and how much she might have ingested. Why? is Mistress Pebbles not feeling well?" he asked sarcastically.

Eliza ignored the tone. "How do you know my cat's name?"

Kora laughed. "He read every single word of the _Illéa Weekly_ Special."

Kyle shrugged. "You want me to make sure you cat is okay?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," Eliza said. "I don't know where she is, though."

Kyle and Kora followed her outside, but Kora stopped by the Selected to chat, and _make new friends…_ Only Kyle followed Eliza up the stairs. Linus was waiting near her room.

"Don't mind him," Eliza said. "That's Linus, my body guard."

Linus eyed Kyle suspiciously. Eliza walked into her room and called Kyle who had stayed outside. "She's here," she said. Mistress Pebbles was curled up on a cushion, on the couch. Kyle sat next to the grey cat.

"She's even prettier than in the picture," he said, gently. He checked her mouth, her fur, her ears, and finally her belly. He smiled. "But don't worry about her. I don't think rat poison is the problem." He looked up at Eliza.

"Then what is?"

"I think she's pregnant."

"Oh my God. Are you serious?"

He laughed. "Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just… I thought she was neutered."

He laughed. "Well, apparently not. I need to make a full ultrasound to know for sure, and how far she is, but I'm like 90% sure you're going to have kittens in a few weeks."

"My mom's gonna kill me for this," she said. "She's allergic to cats."

Kyle raised an eyebrow and stood. "Well, you could give them away."

"What? No!" she laughed. "Poor Pebbles. She needs her babies." She stood, too. "Hey, uh, I know you were kinda angry about this whole Selection being international and all."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but what can I do, right?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize."

"It wasn't your fault." He cleared his throat. "But some of your suitors are a pain in the ass." He headed to the door.

"You don't say," Eliza replied, chuckling.

"But I can tell some of them really care for you. So…" he trailed off. "I hope you can find real love, in the end." He offered a smile and walked out.

"Kyle?"

"Yeah?" he stopped and turned around.

"What do you say about becoming the official Royal vet?"

He snorted. "Don't you already have one?"

"For the horses. But Pebbles will need a vet, soon."

He smiled. "Sure." He took out his business card. "I'm still in training, but you can call me if you need me."

"Thanks," she said, and he walked away.

Eliza sat next to Pebbles and pet her between the ears. "So, you're gonna be a mom, huh?"

* * *

 _ **Hi again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to go more into depth with Kyle, but then I didn't lol.** (But if someone wants to write a Companion about his time with the Selected in the Infirmary, I'm open^^)_

 _ **So yeah, 4 more dates, because Arash will have one too, lmao.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and for putting up with me... see you soon!**_

 _ **Oh, and don't forget to check the Aesthetic board, there will be FC for Arash, Kamran, and Kyle and Kora. ;D**_


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Millie was definitely not liking her new situation. Her new _fiancé_ , or whatever he was, was not of her liking. At all. Except maybe physically. But no. All she could think about was that the three agents hadn't replied yet.

Then, her phone rang with an e-mail notification from one of them. A file was attached and she quickly opened her computer to see what he had found on the suitors.

"Hmm," she hummed to herself, reading the first document. "This is good. This is really good." She quickly skimmed through the documents, and grinned. She could work with that, while the others took their time to reply.

But there was a knock on her door. She slammed her computer shut and plastered a smile on her face. She was, after all, the perfect Princess, wasn't she? At least that's how daddy Oliver had sold her to the Iranian Prince.

"Oh, it's you," she said, seeing her sister, and dropping her smile. "What do you want."

Eliza slapped her hard across the face. "That's for putting rat poison in the Palace."

"What the hell, Eliza?" she said, holding her cheek. "I did not do that!"

"Oh yeah? Then why did Draco almost die of rat poison?"

"Draco? Who the hell is Draco?"

"The ferret," Eliza said, clenching her fists. "And don't you dare attack my suitors, or their animals."

"You know," Millie said, composing herself and snorting. "You're even crazier up-close."

"Then who put the rat poison there?"

"I have no idea," Millie said. "But I'm not heartless. I don't harm animals."

Eliza snorted. "No, but people are fine."

Millie snorted. "You might want to check the news, though," she said before slamming the door in her sister's face. "And don't come back here!"

Millie went back to her computer. On her way to her desk, she grabbed her new Chanel scarf, from her new Hermes bag, and tied it expertly around her neck. Oh, how she loved the feeling of a new accessory. The scarf and the bag had cost, together, roughly fifteen thousand dollars. And she was proud of it. She sat at her computer and read some more.

"Hmm," she hummed to herself. "Now this is going to be interesting. If he has mental health issues, the news from this morning is going to break him. Too bad I won't be there to see this. Oh well." There was lots of work to do. But first, she needed a plan of attack, and for that, she needed all the replies of her agents. She didn't want to drop a huge bomb in the beginning. She would go gradually. First, something small.

 **-x-x-x-**

Eliza walked back to her room, after having the door slammed in her face. She scrolled through the news on her phone. She frowned. How did this happen? How did no one see this coming?

A knock on the door made her jump. Still with her eyes on her phone, she went to open the door.

"Eliza, we need to talk," Linus said.

Eliza looked up. "We do," she said. "How come no one told me about _this_?" she said, handing him her phone with the morning news.

"Because this is the least of your troubles, right now," he said, inviting himself in her room and closing the door behind him. "We have eyes on New Asia, don't worry about this. There's something else I need to tell you."

Eliza frowned. "What is it? Who else is dead?"

"No one." He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Come on, you might want to sit down for this."

Eliza didn't question him. As much as he annoyed her sometimes, she trusted him with her life. She looked at him expectantly.

"Your sister hired three agents to dig into the Selected's lives, pasts, and other shady things." He paused, but not long enough to let her speak. "One of them is a friend of mine, and he kept me in the loop of his findings, and what Millie was up to. He doesn't know what the two others found."

"Oh my God. What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that your sister is on the move. She sent them a message to make them hurry to send back their findings."

"And?"

"And… remember when the _Illéa Weekly_ came over and I asked you and the guys to distract Millie away from her room?" he whispered. Eliza nodded. "I planted a high-tech chip inside her computer, that would let me see everything she did, from my own computer."

Eliza lifted an eyebrow. "That was a week and a half ago. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"Because I didn't want you to worry. But now that your father is planning on shipping her to the Iranian Empire, I'm afraid she started moving faster."

"Linus, stop stalling. What did you find?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, for starters, Alaric was right. He told me to look into her bank account. When you follow the money, you always find something interesting about the person and-"

"Linus. Get to the point."

"Fine. She bought several very expensive fashion items in the past couple of weeks, with her school organization money. She's embezzling large amounts of money for herself, instead of building the schools. I dug a bit, and I found out that almost half of the money raised on every school she started was sent to her personal account, then quickly spent on clothes, handbags, and jewelry, so she would never be able to reimburse if she got caught."

"Holly molly," Eliza said. "What else did you find out?" she asked, morbidly curious.

"Things she found on the Selected, things her agents found, plus what my friend found, and… she has a really odd research history."

Eliza snorted. "Like _how to kill without being noticed_ or something?"

"Yeah, something like that." He sighed. "Also, your grandmother told me to tell you that she wanted to talk to you."

"Oh." She frowned. "Couldn't she just call me?"

Linus shrugged. "I don't know. But you should go see her."

Eliza sighed and nodded. "I will. But first I have to go see the guys." She stood and headed to for the door. "Thanks, by the way."

"Eliza?" he called after her. "Be careful."

"I will. Don't worry."

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Men's Parlor, end of the morning._**

"Hi," Eliza said, coming in after the third knock. She didn't wait for someone to open the door for her. All the guys looked up to her. "So, I'm here for the next date," she said without any preamble. Henri took out the black box and held it out for her. There were only three papers left in the box. Four? She frowned. Another joke from Rafe? "Rafe," she read out loud.

"Finally!" he said. "I can't believe it took you this long to pick my name."

"It's totally random, Rafe," Henri said. "There's nothing Eliza could have done differently."

"I know, I know." He sat up straight on his seat. "This evening sounds good?" he said, and Eliza nodded. "Good." He grinned.

"Now, before I go, I want to speak with Haruhito," she said.

The New Asian Prince looked from over his laptop. "Me? Why?"

"Because," she said. "Outside."

"Is this another elimination?" Rance asked.

"No," Eliza said. "I said I didn't want to do one before the end of the first dates."

Haruhito closed his laptop, put his cat down on the floor, and followed the Princess outside. "What's the matter?" he asked when they were finally outside, in the gardens, under the shade of a parasol.

"Have you, uhm, read the news this morning?" she asked.

"No." He frowned. "Why?"

Eliza scrolled on her phone to find the article she had read and handed it to the New Asian prince. "Wait, you can read English, right?"

"Of course, I can." He almost added that he wrote in English, but stopped himself just in time. He read the article and became pretty much colorless.

"I should have seen this coming," he mumbled and handed Eliza her phone back. "I need to be alone," he said. He stood and walked to the other side of the gardens.

Eliza read the article again.

~.~

 ** _New Asia has a New Emperor_**

 _Early yesterday morning in New Asia, which was noon the day before that for Los Angeles, the Emperor Shigehito, along with his wife the Empress Makoto and their four children, were found dead in their rooms. No security camera showed any breach in their rooms, so specialists think it was a poison. We're still waiting on the autopsy reports._

 _The Prince Regent and brother of the late Emperor, Michihito Prince of Mikasa, has denied any connection to the deaths of his brother and his family, and choosing not to comment. It is rumored he will be crowned Emperor after the funeral takes place, in a couple days._

 _But that leaves us with one question: Prince Haruhito of Mikasa, currently a suitor in Princess Eliza's Selection will be the Crown Prince of New Asia and Heir to the throne, since his older sister, Princess Riko of Mikasa, cannot inherit the throne. What will become of him?_

 _Stay tuned on your favorite news feed for more information on this new development._

By Isabel W. Green

~.~

Eliza decided to join Haruhito. He was looking at the trees, his fingers laced behind his head.

"You okay? Did you know about this?" she asked.

"No. I don't even know why my sister didn't call me."

"Maybe your dad cut all contact to and from the country?"

"Possible." He paused. His breathing was becoming quick and ragged. "I can't do this," he managed to say. "I can't- this was not meant to happen."

Eliza didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Not your fault," he said, then mumbled something in Japanese. "I have to go." He turned around and headed for the Palace.

Eliza sighed and headed to her tree house. She needed time to think. And a cozy, place, too. She walked up the stairs and opened the door easily, since she hadn't locked it last time. She pushed some pillow to the side and sat down. She sighed. Why was everything coming down on her at the same time? Millie, and the Iranian Princes, and Haruhito and New Asia, and the whole Selection to finish- heck, she needed to finish the first dates, first.

She closed her eyes and just listened to the silence around her. This was really a nice place. She stayed there a little while longer before heading back to see Andromeda. She hadn't even taken any time in the past couple weeks to talk to her grandmother.

 **-x-x-x-**

Eliza knocked on Andromeda's door, and only got a small reply to come in. She pushed the door open. But instead of finding her on her couch, or on the balcony, Andromeda was in her bed. And she seemed to have lost some weight.

"Grandmother, are you okay?" Eliza asked, coming over.

"Sit down, Elisabeth," Andromeda said, showing a chair next to her bed.

Eliza obeyed, really not liking where this was going. "Grandma, what's going on?"

Andromeda smiled. "You haven't called me like that since you were a little girl." She sighed smiling. "I need to tell you something," she said, and paused. "I'm dying."

"What? No. That's not possible," Eliza said. "You're not dying, you-"

"Eliza, listen to me," she said, grabbing her granddaughter's hand. "I haven't been feeling well for a few weeks, and your father wanted me to go see a doctor. I refused." She paused, searching for the princess' eyes. "But three days ago, I starting coughing up blood."

"But Grandma-"

"Let me finish, Eliza. Please." She paused and closed her eyes, and Eliza closed her mouth. "My doctor ran some tests, and I have- I have cancer."

Eliza couldn't say anything.

"Cancer of the throat," Andromeda finished.

"But it can be healed, right?"

"Not at this stage."

"But how come you never saw it earlier? You never coughed or anything."

"That's because oesophageal cancer doesn't usually cause any symptoms in the early stages," she said. "It's true I often had indigestion problems, but I never thought it was that." She sighed and swallowed, which seemed to be very painful. "I didn't want to eat anymore. Because I was always scared of indigestion."

A tear streamed down Eliza's cheek, but she didn't wipe it away. She started out the window, from her seat near her grandmother's bed.

"Say something," Andromeda said softly.

"You're only seventy-five years old. You could live another twenty years. I wanted you to be at my wedding. I wanted you to see my children. I-" a sob choked the Princess, and she muffled the sound with her hand.

Andromeda tried sitting up in her bed, and she looked at her granddaughter. "Oh, my darling. I wish I could do all of that. And I promise I'll be here by your side for as long as a I breathe. But you have to know that I'm an old lady. And old ladies sometimes get sick. Old ladies die, Eliza."

"But you're not old!" she said. "You're still young, you still have plenty of years ahead of you!"

Andromeda shook her head. "Not that many," she said. "I'm going to go through chemo to help with the pain. But it won't heal me."

Eliza just sat there, staring at her grandmother. She couldn't imagine a life without her. "But you're still here," Eliza finally said, trying to stay strong.

"Yes. And as long as I'm here, there's nothing to worry about." She coughed into her handkerchief, and quickly hid the speckles of blood on it. "Now," she said. "Who's your date today?"

"Rafe."

"Good. I like him." She paused. "He's a bit loud and speaks his mind, but he's nice. I spoke with him a few times."

Eliza chuckled. "Yeah, he is nice. I wonder what he planned, though."

Andromeda smiled. "I can imagine something wonderful."

"What about the others?" Eliza asked. "You said you had your favorites?"

Andromeda chuckled and coughed again. "I'll tell you about those when you finished dating them all, I promise." She sighed. They were both silent for a moment, and Eliza squeezed her grandmother's hand in hers.

Andromeda decided to go down to lunch with everyone. She didn't want the others knowing about her condition. And if she could pretend as though everything was alright, it would be easier for everyone. For now, only Oliver, Elinor, and Eliza knew. And the doctors of course. But she didn't want the Selected to know. At least not yet.

When they arrived at lunch, one on the Selected was missing: Haruhito.

Eliza didn't mind. He may have needed some time to process what had just happened to his country and his family.

 **-x-x-x-**

A little before supper time, Rafe came knocking on the Princess' door. She opened and offered him the best smile she could muster under the circumstances.

"Hi! I'm almost ready," she said. "What do you think is better for our date, though? Sneakers or heels?" she was wearing a black top with a white circle skirt.

"Hmm… Heels? But maybe take a pair of something more comfortable to wear for later in the evening?" he said.

"Good thinking." She put on a pair of velvet taupe heels, and put a pair of derbies in her big purse, along with her phone, a bottle of water, sunglasses, and her wallet.

"You're leaving the country?" he asked, pointing at her big bag, smirking.

"I like to be prepared," she said. "I'm ready. Shall we?"

"Yes, please," he said, grinning. They walked to the car in silence and drove all the way to their destination in silence. Eliza looked out the window, thinking on everything that had been thrown in her face that day: first, Millie and her evil plans. Then, New Asia, and Haruhito, with whom she didn't know what to do. And he hadn't shown up all day, after that. Last, her grandmother dying.

The car stopped in front of a large building and Rafe helped Eliza get out. Linus followed them inside, and the Royals both followed a staff member of the prestigious hotel.

"We're staying in this hotel for the night?" Eliza asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's a whole new level of first date."

Rafe laughed. "I wish," he said. "But unfortunately, no. It's just that the Club we're going to is on the rooftop of this hotel. It's called _Rooftop at the Standard_. Usually, you need to book a room to have access to it, but they made an exception for us." He winked at her, and the elevator shot up to the top.

"We're VIPs, so don't worry. And it's usually 21+ only." He laughed.

"Oh, good that we're both old enough, right?" she said sarcastically, laughing.

He nodded. "Yeah."

The bouncer let them pass upon seeing their VIP passes and recognizing the Princess. "Your Highness," he said, bowing his head.

They walked in, leaving Linus at the door talking with the other guy. Eliza went directly for the edge of the building, leaning against the railing. Los Angeles lay below them, windows shining in the low evening sun.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked after a while. "You're a bit quiet, this evening."

She nodded. "Yeah, I don't know." she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry. There's just a lot of things going on right now, and I don't know where to put my energy."

He smiled. "You're a superhero," he said. "You can do anything."

"Thanks, but no. I can't."

"What's going on, then? Maybe I can help?"

Just then, a waiter came around with two glasses of champagne. Both took one and Eliza sipped hers. "I don't think I can really tell you," she said. "Well, I can tell you one of the things that are bothering me. It's about New Asia."

"Oh yeah, we saw that," he said. "Kwasi always has his eyes on the news, and he saw that this morning, after you talked to Haruhito. He thought something was wrong, and he looked it up."

"Right. There's nothing we can do here, anyway."

Rafe shook his head. "Hey, you hungry? You shouldn't be drinking that on an empty stomach."

The Princess chuckled. "You're totally right." They headed to the buffet and filled two plates before sitting on couches near outdoor fireplaces. They ate with the plates on their knees and chatted lightly. Rafe tried to help the Princess think of something else.

"So, tell me a little bit about your family? I barely know anything about you, to be honest," she said.

"Hmm, let me see." He paused, rubbing his chin, making a show of thinking about it. "My dad's the King of the South African Nation, but it's complicated."

"Why?"

"Because my mom isn't the Queen. She's my stepmother, and she and her son – my step-brother – hate me more than life itself."

"Oh," Eliza said surprised. Although now to think of it, she had read something about him not being the Queen's son. "But your mother was the late Queen, or…?"

"No. My dad had an affair. He made me Prince because my mom died and he promised her to look after me." He shrugged, biting on a shrimp.

"Huh. Your life must be… complicated."

"Nah," he shrugged. "I just don't like conforming myself to my parents or anyone back home. I learned to do just the things that I want if that's what'll make me happy, you know?"

She chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I wish I could do the same."

"What makes you happy?" he asked, genuinely curious, and ready to do what he could to make her happy. Because truth be told, he didn't care about the Selection in the beginning. But now? Damn, this girl was something else. He had had his share of pretty lines of girls in the past, but nothing serious. And if he wanted to compete with Tom, Raphael, or even Alek and Caspian, he needed to up his game. And fast.

Eliza took a sip from her champagne and thought. "Right now? I wish my grandmother hadn't told me she was sick and dying. But in general? I guess having a normal life and family would make me happy."

Rafe was silent. He was not expecting that. "Wait. Andromeda is…" he trailed off.

"Yes. But please don't tell anyone. I don't even know why I told you this in the first place. I shouldn't have." She put her plate on the coffee table in front of them and walked to the railing, looking at the other rooftops around them. She didn't even notice the tear going down her cheek. She only noticed when Rafe gently wiped it away with his thumb.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," he said softly. And without even thinking, he gathered her in his arms and hugged her.

Eliza was surprised at the gesture. No one had really hugged her in a long time. Sure, she had kissed some of them, but hugged? Not one. And it felt really good. She hugged him back and held tightly on to him, crying silently on his white shirt.

After a moment, she let go of him. "Oh, shoot. I'm sorry. I put mascara all over your shirt."

He chuckled and looked down at his shoulder. "That's okay. It's was it's for." He searched her eyes. "Feeling a little better?"

Eliza wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I guess so."

The sky was getting darker, and the fires and fairy lights brighter. The music was louder, too, and he noticed some people going to the small dance floor. He offered her his hand. "You wanna dance?"

Eliza nodded with a smile and quickly grabbed a few champagne gummy bears from a fancy bowl on the table. "I should buy some of those for my room," she said, popping one in her mouth.

Rafe laughed. "No, you'd get drunk just by eating them."

"I would not!"

"Uh, yeah." He chuckled. "You've only had one glass, and a few gummy bears, and you're tipsy."

The music was slow and a little groovy. "That's because you didn't see me take a second glass, Rafe."

"What? Oh crap. Your mom is gonna kill me."

"Why? you asked her if you could take me here?" she asked sarcastically.

"No. But she did come to the Men's Parlor one morning, and told us not to get you drunk under any circumstances."

She sighed, chuckling. "Don't worry, I'm not drunk," she said, popping another champagne gummy bear in her mouth. "I'm just… merry."

"Uh-huh, right," he said smirking. "I think we should head back home."

"Already? But the DJ just started."

"I know a nice place where we can go before heading to the Palace," he said.

"A hotel room?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"No." He gently pulled her away, to the door. "I wouldn't dare take advantage of you in your state, Eliza," he said, smirking. Both laughed, and headed back downstairs, with the elevator. Linus being the third wheel made it hard to do anything or even talk.

"Back home?" Linus asked, once in the car.

"Nah, the beach," Rafe said. "We're just gonna stretch our legs a bit."

"Okay," he said, sighing.

As much as Eliza was a tiny bit tipsy, she didn't talk on the way to the beach. First, because Linus was there, and she didn't want to say anything stupid in front of him. Second, the reality of her day was once again catching up with her.

A few minutes later, they were at the beach. Few people were there, and it seemed like a quiet place to _stretch your legs._ She changed her shoes and put on the derbies she had taken with her. Then they went on the sand, and Eliza took her shoes off again, holding them in one hand.

They walked in silence for a little while, listening to the waves crashing on the beach. At one point, Rafe also took off his shoes and rolled up his pants.

"You know," she said. "I really needed this evening out, tonight. I don't think I could have done something at the Palace without thinking about… everything."

Rafe smirked. "Glad to be of service, Your Highness," he said.

"Ugh, stop that." She laughed and pushed him playfully.

"Hey!" he said, walking in the wet sand. "No… now the sand is going to stick to my feet!"

"Ha!" Eliza said, pushing him further into the water. But he got a hold of her hand and pulled her with him.

They both ended up with waves lapping at their knees. After playing around for a bit, they walked back on the wet sand of the beach and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She wrapped her free arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

He grinned, but she didn't see that. He may have won himself a few places in the betting game. Who knows?

* * *

 _ **Hi! sorry, this chapter was kinda all over the place, but I hope you still enjoyed it...**_

 _ **Three more dates, and then Eliza will do some eliminations... Unless Millie gets there before her?**_

 _ **Thanks for all of you who still read, review, and support this story! I may be taking a small break** (maybe 1-2 weeks, idk) **to figure things out after the first dates are done and a group is eliminated, and I'm already sorry about that. But I really think I need to do that to be able to give you a good second part of the story. So, yeah...** (and it'll give some of you time to catch up with the reviews LOL ^^)_

 _ **Anyway, see you next chapter! ;D can't wait to see what you thought of this one! ;)**_

 _ **ps: and don't forget to check the Aesthetic board on Pineterest!**_


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

On Wednesday morning, Eliza and three suitors – Henryk, Adrien, and Cian – took the Royal airplane to the southernmost part of Sonage, at the tip of the land. This Hospital visit was a bit different.

"So," Eliza said, ten minutes into the flight. "We're just going to go there, cut a ribbon, shake a few hands, get something to eat – just the four of us – and head back to LA. Sounds like a plan?"

"Yep," Adrien said. "I wouldn't have volunteered for an actual hospital visit. Hospitals make me sick."

"And," Henryk added, "it gives us the opportunity to do something more… uh… what's the word. Political?"

"It's not political," Cian replied. "It's more philanthropic?"

"Yeah," Eliza nodded. "I think it's more in that way. I don't know."

"Who's gonna be there again?" Adrien asked.

"Uhm, Sonage's governor, the hospital director, and a few other Sonage and medical representatives." She sipped from a bottle of lemonade. "But seriously. Just smile and wave, and don't answer journalist questions that stray from the hospital," she continued. "If they ask anything about the Selection, ignore."

Cian chuckled. "What would we say, anyway?"

"I don't know," Eliza said, shrugging. "That you're having a great summer camp? Please don't say that, though."

Henryk and Adrien laughed. "But it is kinda true," Adrien said. "I mean, there's no real competition."

"Maybe not with you involved," Cian said. "But I'm sure some of the guys would definitely say there is competition."

Henryk chuckled. "Different levels of competition, though. Which chocolate is the best? Who can dribble a soccer ball best? Who kisses better?" He snorted. "Good thing I brought my law books with me."

Cian swatted him behind the head. "You're making it sound like all this is boring."

"No, no, no," Henryk said as Eliza laughed. "It's just I don't fit into any competition category, right now. But-"

"Yeah right," Adrien said. "You're number one on Henri's political and history quizzes."

Eliza burst out laughing. "Henri's making you take quizzes? I need to have a word with him."

Henryk chuckled awkwardly. "Actually, it's pretty interesting and all and-"

"Nerd," Adrien whispered under his hand covering his mouth.

"Adrien, let him finish." She looked at Henryk, waiting for the rest of his reply.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I just find it interesting to learn a new culture. I mean, _one_ of us is going to be staying here, anyway."

"Yeah, well it's not going to be you," Adrien snorted.

Henryk rolled his eyes.

"Aw come on, cupcake," Cian said to Adrien. "Let the man dream a bit."

"Cupcake? Did you just call me cupcake?" he said, standing up in front of Cian, still seated on the lush plane armchair.

"Calm down, cupcake," he said. "You're the youngest of us all. We just found you a cute nickname. No offense."

Eliza was laughing in the background. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," she said, wiping laughing tears. "But _Cupcake_? Really?" she chuckled some more.

Adrien rolled his eyes and sat back on his seat. "How much longer? The flight, I mean?"

"A couple of hours," Eliza said.

"Good," Henryk replied, and Adrien groaned.

 **-x-x-x-**

Two hours later, the plane landed at the International Los Cabos Airport, where a black limo was waiting for them on the tarmac. Cian helped Eliza into the car and they drove off for thirty minutes to the new hospital. Adrien was still a little upset at being called a Cupcake, and to be honest, Eliza couldn't unsee him as a yellow cupcake, now.

Eliza was wearing a lacy white top with a grey tulle skirt with grey stiletto pumps. Her grandmother had insisted on her wearing a small tiara, since it was an official event, and not just a visit at a hospital. She had agreed, and so she made sure it was in place before she stepped out of the car.

"Did someone already tell you that you were really beautiful, today?" Cian asked, a smirk on his lips.

"As a matter of fact, no," Eliza said. "So thank you."

"My pleasure." He grinned.

They were greeted by the Governor of Sonage and the Hospital Director.

"Governor Slyther," Eliza said, giving her her hand. "It's an honor to meet you."

"The honor is mine, Your Highness," the woman replied. "We haven't had royalty all the way down here in many years."

Eliza nodded. "I know, that's why I want to change that."

Governor A. C. Slyther nodded and smiled. "This is Dr. Hubschrauber, director of the hospital, and Dr. Lea, Pediatrician. They co-founded the hospital."

"Pleased to meet you," Eliza said, shaking hands with the two doctors. "I've read all your work and research you did for this hospital, and I support you fully."

"Thank you so much!" Dr. Hubschrauber said. "And we've been following your Selection very closely too," she said. "We're really happy you pulled your suitors into the hospital visits. It was a great idea."

Eliza chuckled. "Speaking of the Suitors, this is Prince Cian, from the United Kingdoms of Ireland, Prince Adrien, from Monaco, somewhere in Europe, and Duke Henryk from-"

"From Poland," Dr. Lea said. She smirked. "We read all about them."

Eliza read her name tag. S. Y. Lea. She wondered at her name. "So," she said, changing the subject. Shall we do this?"

"Yes!" the Governor said. "Please follow me."

The doctors and the Royals followed the Governor to the front of the building, which was covered in a red velvet curtain, where hordes of journalists, fans, and curious people were waiting. Camera flashes blinded them, and Eliza smiled and waved.

"When are you going to eliminate the next suitor?"

"Do you have any favorites?"

"Is one of these three a favorite?"

"Is it true your sister will be wearing a hijab, soon?"

"What do you think of the latest event in the Mongasian War?"

"Who designed your dress?"

So many questions Eliza ignored.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Governor Slyther said over the noise of the gathered people. "I'm am very proud to introduce to you the very first children only hospital in Sonage. Drs. Hubshrauber and Lea have been working for a long time to get this together, and we were very happy to see that Princess Elisabeth was one of the main doners and supporters of the projects. That is why they decided to dedicate the Hospital to her."

Dr. Hubschrauber stepped in. "We decided to name the hospital _Eliza Child Foundation_ ," she said, "and we hope that more hospitals like this will see the light of day in other Provinces and areas during her Reign." She turned to the Princess. "You have inspired many of us, over the past few weeks and months, and we will continue to look up to you." She bowed her head to the Princess, and Eliza smiled her thanks.

Dr. S. Y. Lea handed Eliza a big golden pair of scissors and she asked Cupcake Adrien to hold the other side of the scissors. They snapped the red ribbon under a thunder of applause and the red curtain fell down, revealing a gleaming new double front door with big letters writing _ELIZA CHILD FOUNDATION_.

Eliza grinned and photographers flashed for a good fifteen seconds without a pause. After that, Dr. Hubschrauber invited the Governor, the other doctors, nurses, and staff members who were going to work there, as well as the royal visitors for a glass of champagne inside. Everything was pristine and clean, and didn't smell – yet – like a hospital.

They chatted amiably, Eliza asking many questions, then it was time to go grab something to eat in town, then head back to the airport, and back home.

On the plane, Adrien managed to get Eliza alone for a couple of minutes.

"Hey, I was wondering if we could spend the evening together? Like on a date?"

"Oh, uhm, sure why not," she said, smiling. She hadn't planned a date that day, but why not, right? "What do you have in mind?"

He shrugged. "Something simple. I just want to spend some time with you, that's all."

She nodded. "Of course." Then she went back to her seat, and started on _Tales Untold_ , volume 2, called _Night's Shadow_ , the one Haruhito had had signed for her. Speaking of Haruhito, she wondered how he was doing. He hadn't shown up at breakfast that morning.

 **-x-x-x-**

A little before dinner, there was a knock on Eliza's door, that made her jump. It was Adrien, and she welcomed him with a genuine smile. The Yellow Cupcake was right on time.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Eliza said. "But we're not leaving the Palace, are we?"

"No, don't worry. We're staying around here." He led the way up the stairs, to the fourth floor, a floor Eliza seldom set her feet on. It was mainly Staff rooms, the roof being just above. Adrien pushed a door open, revealing a set of metallic stairs going up. Eliza had completely forgotten those stairs. She used to sneak up there, sometimes, with her sister when they were kids. Always to be scolded afterward by their father at how dangerous it was, bla bla bla.

They ended on the roof, where a picnic blanket and basket were waiting, along with some fairy lights.

"Wow, you wrapped this up in a couple of hours?"

"Yeah," he said, shrugging. "I work better under pressure." He chuckled.

They both sat on the steepen roof, and Adrien took out first some appetizers and two beers.

"Don't tell your mom about the beer, though," he said.

Eliza laughed. "Adrien, you're underage, you know?"

He waved the comment away. "Let's just pretend I'm not. In Monaco, the legal age is eighteen, so…"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I won't tell on you. If you won't tell on me." She toasted the beer with him.

"Deal. This is our secret." They clinked their beer together and sipped at the same time. When they were done with the appetizers, Adrien took out some noodle boxes with chopsticks. The food was slippery, and both made fun of each other being unable to eat properly.

When they were done, they both lay down on the roof, watching the sky as the stars slowly made their apparition in the darkness.

"Tell me something about you that no one here knows," she suddenly asked, one of her arms behind her head.

"Uh, let's see." He thought for a few seconds. "Oh, I know. I've always wanted a mood ring, but for whatever reason, I never got around to getting myself one."

"A mood ring?"

"You know, those rings that change color with your mood. Like when you're stressed it's black, or angry it's red, or whatever they programmed it for."

"Huh. I never heard of those." She paused. "What color would you be, now?"

"I don't know what color this would be, but I guess I'm totally relaxed, right now."

"Are you?" she asked, teasing. "Not even a little nervous? Tired? Excited?"

He shook his head. "Nah, my belly is full, I have an amazing woman next to me, and we're looking at the stars. What's more relaxing than that?"

Eliza chuckled. "Maybe you're right." They were silent for a moment. "Do you think the stars are looking down at us, too?"

"Most of them of already dead. Their light comes to us even though they are out."

"That… is not very romantic," Eliza said, trying not to laugh.

"Uh, I guess not," he replied. "Forget I said that." They both laughed and continued watching the stars. "Do you know any constellations?" he asked.

"Only a few. I can find the Great Bear, the Ursa Minor, and Orion. But that's it. You?"

"None. Well, except for the first two you mentioned. I bet everyone can find them."

"Probably." Eliza looked for those constellations and pointed them out to Adrien. They spent the evening and part of the night talking about the stars, and sharing some childhood memories.

"I think the best thing I did when I was a teenage-"

"Which wasn't that long ago," Eliza cut in slyly.

"Hey," he said, pushing her playfully. "That's not fair. As I was saying, the best thing I did when I was a _teenager_ , was sneak out of the Palace, right under my parent's noses, and went for a night of gambling and drinking – underage, of course – without my bodyguard." He chuckled. "He and two others found me at around three in the morning in one of the casinos and had to drag me back home drunk. I don't even remember the end of that night."

Eliza burst out laughing. "What? You? The little cupcake getting drunk?"

Adrien cleared his throat. "Yeah, well I happen to know you also got drunk during college and _Linus_ had to _carry_ you back home."

"Whoever told you that story is a prick, because that's not true. At all. For starters, I was never drunk enough for him to carry me home. Second, I never got to get really drunk, because he would pull me home before I had the time to."

Adrien laughed. "And what about the Ball? The first one when we came here? You were clearly drunk."

"Yeah, well, that was due to my being nervous and having an empty belly."

"Yeah, that doesn't help at all," he conceded.

"Nope."

When both started yawning more than usual, they tidied the place and headed back to their rooms. Adrien kissed Eliza's hand to bid her good night, and walked away. He knew he had no chance with her, anyway. He was the _Cupcake_ , now, the youngest, and he was even underage to drink alcohol. Against the older ones, especially, Swisster Mister and Tommy Boy, or even Alek, he had no chance. He was just going to wait until the end of the Selection, or when Eliza would eliminate them. The first dates were almost over, so…

 **-x-x-x-**

It was pointless to pick another name from the black box, since there was only two left: Latreall and Quinlan. But Eliza also wanted to go on a date with Arash, but she would do that after the two others. It was decided that Latreall would be the first one of the last group to go. He had the whole afternoon planned out, and he wanted to meet Eliza after lunch.

And since Haruhito was still not attending the lessons, and it had been, what, two or three days since the awful announcement from New Asia? So Eliza took it upon herself to go find him. She just wished nothing was wrong.

She knocked on his door, but there was no answer. She knocked again, but again no answer. Not even a sound. She didn't want to go in and find him dead, so she quickly called Linus for backup. He would know what to do in case anything happened.

" _Yeah?_ " he said on the other side of the line.

"I need you to come. I'm in front of Haruhito's room."

" _Why? What's wrong?_ "

"Nobody has seen him in a few days."

" _On my way._ " A minute later, he was coming down the stairs. "Did you knock on his door?"

"Yes. Several times. There is no answer, and no noise from inside," she said, worried lines creasing her face.

Linus frowned. He knocked on the door, but again, no answer. Then he tried opening the door, but it was locked. "This is bad," he said. He took out some kind of pins from his pocket and started picking the lock. The door swung open.

Inside, it was dark, and smelled awful, as if the windows hadn't been opened in days. There was a mewing from Adern, but he stayed where he was, on the bed. Linus turned on the light, and the room looked like it had been ransacked by robbers. Clothes and garbage were littered everywhere.

"He's on his bed," Eliza said, pointing at the inanimate form on under the covers. Adern was curled in a ball next to Haruhito. Linus told her to stay back with one motion of his hand and walked slowly towards the Prince.

"Haruitho?" he said, coming closer to the bed. Still, he didn't move and his back was turned to them. Linus looked for a pulse in the boy's neck, and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt one. "He's alive," he said. He gently turned Haruhito over, and Eliza joined him.

The Prince was pale, even more than usual, and there was dried blood coagulated on his white sheets, his t-shirt, and his sleeves. There also was a knife in one of his limp hands. Linus immediately saw his wrists and took the knife away.

"Call the doctor," he said, and Eliza obliged. She had a direct number on her phone for the Royal doctor, and she dialed it.

Haruhito was awake, clearly, but he wasn't cooperating when the doctor came. Somehow, they managed to get him to the infirmary, and Eliza stayed with him. He hadn't eaten or drank anything in two days, and he was completely dehydrated. They give him sugared iced tea and he slowly got some colors back.

"Can you tell my dad I'm dead?" he said weakly, out of the blue.

"What?" Eliza said. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I can't go back. I'm an Heir, now. But I can't go there. I can't face him." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Just tell him I killed myself. And I can stay in Illéa under a new identity. Please?" he said, pleading.

"Haruhito, you know I can't do that. Your father might just nuke us."

"He won't." He paused, thinking. "I'll write a 'suicide letter' for him, and then I'll simply disappear."

Eliza sighed. She didn't know what to do. "You know, it's not that bad to be the Heir."

"It is for me," he said, and the words seemed like. "You have no idea what's it like to be his son. He won't let me write. He wants me to be this person I don't want to be. He-" he stopped.

"You write?" she asked with a slight smirk. "That's what you've been doing on your computer all the time?"

Haruhito nodded.

" _Tales Untold_ , huh?" she said.

Another nod. "Just- please don't tell him that. He would kill me himself."

She was silent for a long moment. "Look. I'll think about what you're asking for, okay? I can't promise you anything, but I'll try to think of something." She started to head out.

He nodded. "Thanks." A pause. "But if you can't do it, I'll do it on my own."

Eliza froze, but didn't reply. She wouldn't let him do it, that was for sure.

* * *

 _ **Hey! so yeah, sorry it took so long. I really had trouble focusing and getting words down for this chapter. But I managed. I think so.**_

 _ **I'm already announcing the next elimination on chapter 39** (two chapters from now) **, and then I'm probably going to take a small break...**_

 _ **thank you for still reading, reviewing, and supporting me and this story! also, don't forget to check the Chapter aesthetic on the Aes Board^^ see ya soon!**_


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

The day had started rather well. Eliza had spent the morning with her Grandmother in the shade in the gardens, going over pictures of Andromeda's Selection, and then over Eliza's pictures. Some on her phone, others she had taken with her new Polaroid camera given by Jericho. She filled in everything she hadn't told her grandmother yet.

"So, only two dates left, then?" Andromeda said, a soft smile on her lips.

Eliza nodded and looked at her grandmother's smile. She had seemed to age a decade in the past couple of weeks. "Well, no. Three actually."

"Three?" Andromeda frowned. "Did I miss one?"

"No. But since Arash is here with his brother and he told me he had wanted to participate, I thought ' _what's one more date?_ '"

Andromeda laughed. "Don't bring his hopes up, darling."

"I won't. Besides, I'm planning on eliminating a bunch soon." She paused and Andromeda raised a questioning eyebrow. "On Monday or Tuesday. I'll have to spend the weekend finding arrangements with their governments."

"What arrangements?" Andromeda asked.

"Oh, you know. Alliances, trade agreements and all. Just to make sure they don't declare war on us just because I refused their suitor."

The old woman chuckled. "Oh, my," she said, squeezing her granddaughter's hand. "Leave it to you to think of that and protect your back."

"It's not only my back," Eliza said. "It's the whole country."

"You're right," Andromeda nodded slowly. "You're absolutely right." She winced as a new pang of pain ripped her stomach apart. The indigestions weren't getting any better. "Help me back inside, would you, dear?" she asked weakly.

"Of course." Eliza helped her grandmother stand and walk back inside the Palace. She helped her to her room, where she called her Lady's Maid and the nurse.

When Eliza came back downstairs, she headed to her office. She had lots of work to do to prepare the Elimination. It wouldn't be the Elite, just yet. But she needed to get rid of a bunch in order to get things done and to the end of her Selection. She already had an idea who she might choose at the end – or at least she had a select group in which she will choose – but she needed to keep the Selection going.

She made a list of the Suitors, and then listed the pros and cons of keeping them. Either politically, strategically, or considering her feelings for them. Only two were on the _I-don't-know-yet_ list, since she had two more dates to do. After a moment, she looked outside her window, and saw Millie and Kamran deep in conversation, away from everyone, in the gardens.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _The Gardens, away from eavesdroppers_**.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Emilia?" Kamran said.

Millie rolled her eyes. "Kamran. You're asking me this? When you backstabbed your siblings to get to the top of _your_ game?"

Kamran smirked. "Maybe, but Hassan outsmarted me." He paused. "What do you have to gain in doing this? It's not like you're going to be Queen here, anyway."

"Yeah, you don't have to remind me that," she said bitterly.

"Then why do you want to do this?" he asked again.

"Because if I'm being sent away to marry you," she said in a biting tone, "might as well go with a bang. Don't you think? And I'm sure Eliza will be able to handle this. It's not like I'm divulging the top secret Illéa war strategy, anyway."

Kamran chuckled and looked at the redhead. She was dressed in a white modest-looking lacy dress. But it was still short-sleeved and went only to the knee. She could do what she wanted in her country. And as long as she wasn't married to an Iranian Prince. But once she was, she would have to adopt the female fashion of Iran. At least wear a headscarf and covering clothes. And while they were on Iranian soil.

"You look really nice in that dress," he said.

"Thanks," she replied curtly, not really listening. For now, she had better things to do. She was writing an e-mail to several magazines, with the incriminatory information on some of the suitors. One or two info to each magazine, otherwise it would be too easy to follow up and know she had done this.

Kamran just sat there, letting her do what she wanted. He wasn't her husband yet. But to be honest, he was impressed by what she had pulled off.

When she was done, Millie read some articles in a gossip magazine, and she snorted. "Can you believe this? Listen to this: _Will_ _Princess Emilia Schreave be able to pull off a hijab? Because marrying a Prince of the Iranian Empire will imply her converting to Islam. Will the princess continue her hard work providing schools for kids, over there? One thing is sure, we can't wait to see her with a headscarf._ "

Kamran was silent for a moment. "Well…" he trailed off. "You won't have to convert to Islam, but you will have to wear at least a hijab."

"I'm sorry, what?" Millie said, putting her phone down. "I'll have to do what?"

Kamran swallowed. "You'll have to wear a hijab. Look, I know this is all new to you, but I promise there are some really nice head scarfs and outfits for royalty, in Iran."

"Say that again?" Millie said, not believing what she was hearing. But he wasn't joking.

"I can ask my sister Alina to show you some things about… woman fashion, in Iran, if you like."

Millie rolled her eyes and stood. "There's no way I'm covering up myself. People will just have to get used to this," she said, showing her whole body and her red fiery hair. She stomped away and back to her room. Her job was done anyway. Now she was ready to watch the world burn, with a cocktail in her hand.

 **-x-x-x-**

Right after lunch, Latreall and Eliza headed to the car waiting for them in front of the Main Entrance, and the ride took them out of town, during a twenty-minute drive. They chatted about this and that.

"Hey, uhm, I forgot to ask you," Latreall said, just before arriving at their destination. "How's your ankle?"

"My ankle?" she chuckled. "Good. Why?"

"Just making sure," he said, smirking. Five minutes later they were walking into the biggest trampoline room Eliza had ever seen. Though she had never seen one before, but this room was _ginormous_! All the trampolines were lined together with green safety foam coverings.

"Are you serious?" Eliza said with a huge grin.

"Yep. I thought we could just have fun. I booked the whole room just for us. So there's no risk in bumping into anyone."

Eliza quickly took off her shoes and tried the first trampoline, jumping softly on it, testing the bounce, and her ankle. It seemed to be okay, so she went a little harder. Ruby, Lukas, and Linus were on the side, taking pictures and laughing.

Latreall walked on the trampoline and warmed up by doing some easy jumps, then he jumped from one trampoline to the other, and even did a summersault here and there.

"You're gonna have to teach me to do that!" Eliza said, jumping over to him.

"Not a good idea, Eliza," Linus called out.

"Oh come on," she said. "There is no risk in this. The trampolines are huge, there is no one for me to hurt and Latreall's an expert. He can teach me."

Linus raised an eyebrow. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Eliza."

"Whatever," she said. She looked at her date. "So? Can we do this?"

"Sure!" So he explained and showed her how to do a simple summersault. Eliza tried several times, but either she wouldn't turn enough, to she would turn too much, landing on her face. But after trying over and over again, she managed.

"Ruby! Did you get that one?"

"Yes!" she said. "And we're showing it on the Report tonight!"

"Excellent," Eliza said, grinning. Then they jumped liked kids, laughed, and she asked him to show her some other tricks. He showed her how to use the wall trampolines to get even more momentum, and it was all good, until she landed badly on a wall trampoline and twisted her ankle. Again.

"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!" he said. "I shouldn't have shown you this move…"

"It's okay. I don't think it's as bad as last time."

In less than ten seconds, Linus was at her side on the trampoline. "I'm not going to say _I told so_ , but…" he sighed. "It's late anyway. I need to take you two home before the Report."

Latreall and Linus helped Eliza to walk the whole room of trampolines, and they headed back home.

On the drive back to the Palace, Eliza checked her phone for any messages. But instead, she saw some articles about the boys.

"She did it," Eliza said bitterly to Linus. "Millie went all out."

"Seriously?" Linus replied from the driving seat. "Crap. I thought we had more time. My friend didn't give her his findings."

Eliza sighed and looked at Latreall. "Lat, is it true you own a gambling house in Spain?"

In two seconds, Latreall's color faded to white. "How do you know that?"

Eliza handed him her phone with the article. He read it in silence. "Who the hell found about that?"

"Millie, who else?" Eliza said. "Is it true?"

"Yes," he said through clenched teeth. "But if my parents get wind of this, I'm screwed."

"Like _screwed_ screwed?" Eliza ventured. "They'll disown you?"

"No. I don't think so. But they'll make me shut it down. Lots of people work there. I don't want to take that away from them."

"Of course not," Eliza said. "And you get money out of it, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "But I use the money for charities. Sometimes…"

"Good," she said. "Then we can turn this positively. Don't worry about this." She sighed and went through the other new articles. All about some of the boys. She had really gone all out with this. She already knew Haruhito had mental health issues. Nothing new, here. And she still needed to figure out what to do with him and his… request. Next article – and to everyone's horror – was Caspian, who seemed to have created the Robot Drones for the Mongasian War. Again, nothing new, there. She would have to make a statement about that, though. Maybe tonight on the Report? Then there was an article on Sebastian. Now, this was new. Apparently, he had a past of drug abuse. She would need to talk to him about this before making a statement. And the last article she could find on the Selection was a picture of Niko and Jericho in a Palace hall… _kissing_. Eliza snorted. This wasn't entirely new to her, but the article stated they were unsuitable for the Crown and the Princess, since they were both gay. Eliza laughed and showed the article to Latreall.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well. They're not very discreet about it," he said. "They're pretty obvious."

"I know," Eliza said. "But I didn't know they had gone down that road yet." She chuckled.

"What are you going to do about them?" he asked.

"Nothing." She smiled.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Report Stage, 20 minutes before going live_**.

"Sebastian? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Eliza said coming over to a group of boys talking together. She was limping from her twisted ankle. Thank goodness she only had a splint that fit in her flats, and didn't need to walk with crutches.

"Sure," he said smiling. "What's up?"

"I just need you to confirm or deny this," she said, showing him the article about him and drug abuse past.

"Oh," he said, his smile faltering a bit. He took a deep breath while quickly reading the article. "Part of it is true," he said, quietly. "But whoever found that information doesn't know anything about me." He was clearly upset.

"Then tell me what's the truth, because Ruby is going to make me comment it, among other things."

He let out a breath. "I never used narcotic drugs," he said. "It was only Purple Drank."

"Which is…?"

"Cough Syrup, mixed with a carbonated soft drink." He sighed. "Look. I haven't used this in a few years. But if you need to make a statement about this, just-"

"No, it's okay. I understand." She sighed. "Millie's out there, wreaking havoc. I just need to do damage control, now."

"I'm sorry, I should've told you this earlier." He cracked his knuckles unconsciously. "I wanted to tell you this, if we had a second date, you know? I didn't want to scare you on our first date. I should've told you."

"Hey, Seb," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "It's okay. Don't worry. I'm gonna fix this."

"This is not for you to fix," he said.

"Yeah, it is. My sister just declared war on me, it's my turn to retaliate."

Seb's blue eyes searched for Eliza's green ones. "We're all with you, you know."

"Thanks." She smiled at him

"Fifteen minutes!" the stage director called out.

"Your Highness?" Ruby said, coming to join the couple talking. "I just need to go over some things with you."

"Sure," she said. "I'll see you later, Seb." She turned to Ruby, and Ruby gave her some cards with her statements.

Eliza sighed. "These were written by dad and his advisors, right?"

Ruby grimaced. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."

The Princess quickly read through them and sighed. "I'm not saying that. And I'm not eliminating them now." She looked at Ruby. "How much time before going live?"

Ruby checked her phone. "Twelve minutes."

"I'm gonna go talk to my dad." That said, she made a beeline to the King. "Dad, we need to talk."

Oliver looked at his daughter. "If it's about those statements, I'm not going back on them. You say that, and it's final."

"No. Dad, please, listen. Half of these things I already knew-"

"Being the only one knowing them, and having the whole country knowing them is not the same thing. You need to address these actions."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll address them. But let me do it my way."

"Not a chance," he said. "I'm sorry to say this Eliza, but sometimes you make things worse." He paused, but not long enough to let her defend herself. "You follow the script, and that's final."

"Fine. But there's no way I'm eliminating them tonight."

Oliver looked at his daughter for a whole half minute without talking. "When are you planning the next elimination?"

"Monday, or Tuesday. Not more than ten guys, though."

"Fine. Don't eliminate them tonight. But I want all of them, the one you make a statement on, gone then."

"We'll see about that," she said, walking away before Oliver could add anything. She sat on her designated seat, in the middle of the boys, and went over the cards. She didn't even notice the two boys sitting next to her.

"Hey, you okay?" Raphael asked, leaning over.

"Yeah. You?" she asked.

"A little nervous."

"You? Nervous? I don't believe it."

"Well, yeah," Raphael replied. "We saw those articles and all. I wonder what's gonna come out on me."

"Do you have anything to hide?" she asked, smirking.

"…No," he said. "I don't think I do."

"Then there's nothing to be afraid of," she replied.

"Three minutes!" the director said, and people started scrambling to their seats to wait for the starting point of the Report. Eliza was the nervous one, though. She kept wiping her hands on her skirt.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Raphael said, taking one of her hands in his and giving her a light squeeze.

Eliza met his hazel eyes and smiled. "Thanks." She chuckled. "How did you end up next to me?"

He shrugged. "Those who want to sit next to you on the Report always play rock-paper-scissors. I won this time. And so did Rafe," he mentioned to her other side.

"Oh good," she said. "Rafe and Raph."

"We're live in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, …"

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _The Miller House, Los Angeles_**.

Kora, Kyle, and their sister Kate, back from a long day of surgery with other doctors, huddled on the couch to watch the latest Report. Their parents were sitting on the other smaller couch, and waiting.

Kora had a giant bowl of popcorn on her lap, stuffing her mouth with it. Kate was typing something on her phone, and Kyle had a smirk on his face.

"How'd you think she's gonna handle those articles?" he asked.

"Shut up," Kora said. "It's starting.

The Illéan Anthem played, and Ruby Wright showed up on the screen in her bubbly and extraverted personality that put Kyle so on edge.

" _Good evening, Illéa!_ " she said. " _Lots of things happened this week and before we get down to business, let's just do our little recap, shall we?_ "

On the screen came up some footage of Eliza's Birthday Charity Event, then her Monday date with Otávio – "Hey, isn't it on Monday that you guys went there?" Kate asked, to which Kora and Kyle nodded – the Tuesday date with Rafe at that bar in LA, their hospital opening in Sonage, and finally, Friday's date with Latreall, where Eliza made the perfect summersault on a trampoline.

"Ha," Kora said. "I bet you didn't know she could do _that_!"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Seriously, though. Who brings a Princess to a _trampoline_ date? That is so not Royal."

Still with her eyes on her phone, Kate said. "You know, they're all Princes. It's not like they have to impress her or anything. They're all equals."

"True," Kora said.

Kyle grunted a reply no one understood.

" _Now_ ," Ruby said, taking back the stage. " _Someone did some digging and sent out their findings on the boys. Which was really rude, to be honest."_ She paused. " _Princess Eliza, would you mind giving us a few words on that?_ "

The camera zoomed in on the Princess standing up and taking the center of the stage, where Ruby was standing just a few seconds ago. Kyle thought she looked breathtaking in her ice blue dress, contrasting so strongly with her red hair. She looked like a Queen, and that was not lost on Kyle.

" _Good evening,"_ She said with a warm smile. " _As Ruby said, some information concerning my suitors were leaked out earlier today, and I have a few things to say about it."_ She paused. " _First, Princes Caspian did not design the Drone Robots used right now, as we speak, in Mongolia. Leonardo Da Vinci designed those exo-skeletons centuries ago. Caspian only altered them to help people use their bodies fully, people who were, for example, paraplegic. What he did was then stolen and sold to New Asia."_ She changed the card in her hands, then put them in her pocket.

"She's not reading her cards," Kora said. "She's gonna mess up."

"No," Kyle said. "She won't. You'll see."

"Will you two shut up?" their mother said. "We're trying to listen."

" _Yes, Prince Sebastian has used drugs, in his past,"_ Eliza said _. "But who hasn't tried cough syrup? Or coffee? Or cigarettes in stressful situations? We all have. There is nothing to be ashamed off. "_ A pause. " _It is rumored that the New Asian prince has mental health issues. If we are all honest with ourselves, don't we all have some issues? May it be OCD, or depression, or being bipolar. No one is perfect."_

"She's good," Kyle said, grinning. "But her suitors are all mess-ups, to be honest."

"Shut up, Kyle," Kate said.

" _And why is it, when someone does something good that we always twist it to make it bad?"_ the Princess continued. _"Prince Latreall has found a way to make money to fund charities. Don't take that away from him, whatever how he makes that money."_ She smiled. " _Now, for the last information that leaked. Prince Nikolai of the Russian Empire has become one of my best friends during this Selection. And nothing he does will change the fact that he is here as my suitor. And the same goes for Prince Jericho."_

She paused and smiled.

" _Thank you, Your Royal Highness,"_ Ruby said. " _May I ask you a question, though?_ "

" _Of course."_

 _"Are you going to eliminate any of these young men you mentioned?"_

 _"Not before I've gone through the first round of first dates."_

 _"And how many do you have left?"_

 _"Two,"_ she said.

"I wonder how many guys she's gonna kick out," Kyle said. "Do you think she's already gonna go for the Elite?"

"She has to be careful who she kicks out. One mistake and they declare war on Illéa," Kora said.

"Right. I forgot about that," Kyle replied. After that, the King said a few words, _bla bla bla_ , and they tuned out the Report. Then the credits came on, and they turned off the TV.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Illéan Palace, after dinner._**

As soon as the Report was over, Eliza put back her splint on. And now that dinner was over, too, all she wanted to do was go to her room and sleep. This whole day had been exhausting.

She was on her way to the stairs, when Quin caught up with her.

"Eliza?"

"Yeah?" she said, turning around.

"Uh, look, I know I'm your last date and all, but maybe we could do this before the weekend and before next week?"

"Now?" she asked, incredulous. She really wanted to sleep!

"Yeah? If that's okay with you?" he said, tentatively.

She tried to hide how tired she was. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing too big," he said, "Especially with your ankle, but I was thinking the hot tub?"

She grinned. Now that, she could definitely do. "Yeah, that sounds great! I'll meet you there in twenty minutes. I need to take off this ridiculous dress."

He nodded. "Oh, and by the way, the dress is not ridiculous. You look beautiful."

"Thanks," she said, trying not to roll her eyes at the same compliments from everyone over and over again. "I'll see you later.

Twenty minutes later, she met him near the hot tub. He had prepared a bottle of pink champagne, two glasses, and a bowl of chocolate-dipped strawberries. Clearly, he had been preparing this earlier than twenty minutes ago. Eliza smiled at the evening snacks and took off the knit-dress she was wearing, revealing a perfect black bathing suit on a perfect toned body. How it had stayed toned and perfect throughout the Selection and eating all kinds of foods was a mystery.

They slipped into the warm water and lightly chatted about random things. They tried not to talk about the Report, though, which had been less of a disaster than Eliza had first thought it would be.

* * *

 _ **Helloooo! I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;)**_

 _ **Only one date left: Arash. Then, eliminations. OOF!**_

 _ **Don't forget to go check the Aesthetic Board, too^^ thanks for reading, reviewing and supporting me^^ see you soon!**_


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

"Go ask her," Rafe said, pushing Arash towards Eliza, who was walking down the steps, her nose on her phone, still a little limping from her trampoline date.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, isn't she supposed to pick my name from a box?"

"The official first dates are over," Rama said. "Just go ask her."

"But what if she thinks my idea is lame?" Arash complained, unsure.

Rafe rolled his eyes. "Look. We asked Andromeda about this, and she said Eliza would love it. Just go!" He gave him a stronger shove and Arash found himself walking straight to Eliza.

"Uh, Your Highness? I mean- Elisabeth?"

Eliza looked up from her phone. "Hey, Arash," she said, looking up. She didn't miss the group of three boys – Rafe, Rama, and Latreall – watching from afar. "What's up?"

"I, uh, I just wanted to know if you might want to go on a date with me? I know," he said without letting her reply, "that you usually pick the names from the black box and all, but since you've officially finished the first round of first dates-"

Eliza chuckled, making Arash stop talking. "What did you have in mind?"

Arash quickly looked over his shoulder to the other boys, and all three nodded, encouraging him. Eliza looked at them, too, and sent them a look that could have been translated to _'Are you seriously kidding me, right now? Get the hell out of here.'_ Rafe, Rama, and Latreall quickly ran away, understanding the message.

"Uhm," he said. "Something simple, really. Just getting out of here?" he chuckled nervously. "I mean, with all of them watching, it's…"

"I understand," she said, grinning.

"Cool," he said, relieved. "So, uhm, okay." He chuckled. "Would six o'clock be okay?"

"Of course. I'll meet you at the Main Entrance. I'll see you later, then," she said. "Oh, uhm, any dress code?" she asked, before continuing on to wherever she was heading to in the first place.

"Something nice?"

"Okay." She offered him a smile and walked away.

Arash let a huge sigh of relief escape him, after he made sure she couldn't hear him. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and chuckled. This was going to be his first "real" date. Where he had actually asked the girl out. Back in Iran, he was always set up with _high-quality_ women, with a group of security. He just hoped there wouldn't be too many security guards with them.

He headed outside, where most of the guys were. They were spending time around the pool, playing soccer, and enjoying every last minute they could spend in the Illéan Palace. They knew some of them would be going home soon, but they didn't really want to think about that just yet…

"Well? What did she say?" Rafe asked, pulling himself out of the swimming pool.

"She said okay, and we're meeting up at six," Arash said, taking off his suit jacket. He still hadn't gotten into wearing more casual clothes, like the others.

Rafe smirked. "What? You should have said you were picking her up at her room."

"No," Arash replied. "I don't think that was a good idea."

Rafe rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Go change and join us here. Come on, man."

Arash looked at Rama who was sitting on a lounging chair not too far and motioned him with his head. Rama stood and followed his friend inside.

"Is Rafe always like that?" Arash asked.

"Oh yeah. He thinks he owns the world," Rama replied. "Hey, do you really want to go on this date with Eliza? Or are you doing it because the others are pressuring you to do it?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," he said. "I mean, this is going to be my first real date, and I'm terrified."

Rama laughed. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"What did you do on your date with the Princess?"

"We went to visit the National Sequoia Park. I drove us on a bike, and I ended up hugging a giant tree just to measure its circumference."

Arash burst out laughing. "You didn't!"

"Yes. But I was the one to suggest she start her hospital visits again. So I guess that's something, right?"

Arash chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that's something." Now that they were in front of his door, he excused himself and came out five minutes later only in his bathing suit with a towel around his shoulders.

"Uh, you might want to put on a t-shirt," Rama said. "This is not a random hotel. You might bump into the Queen."

Arash's eyes widened like saucers. "Right." He darted back in his room and came out with a t-shirt and sneakers.

"Better." Rama playfully slapped his friend on the arm and they went back outside.

 **-x-x-x-**

At exactly six o'clock, Eliza met Arash in the Main Entrance.

"Wow, you look amazing," he said, looking at her vintage-looking yellow dress.

"Thank you," she replied. "You clean up pretty well yourself."

He grinned and they walked out the door and into the car.

"So, where are we going?"

"You'll see," he said. "But someone told me you'd like it."

"Who?"

"If I tell you all my secrets, then what's the point?" he said with a smirk.

"Fair enough," she concluded, chuckling lightly. A few minutes later, they stopped in a street in downtown LA. "The Cicada Club?" she said.

"You've been there before?" he asked.

"No, but I've heard about it. Isn't it that vintage-y bar? With a dance floor and all?"

Arash nodded. "Yes. It's based on the 20's designs and music. From what I've heard."

Eliza grinned. "Excellent."

They walked into the building, Eliza holding onto Arash's arm. There were lots of people, and the music was loud, made by a live band on a stage. Tables and chairs lined the rim of the large room, leaving the center of the room free to be a giant dance floor. For now, couples were just dancing, but in an hour or so, professionals would come to show real 20's dances and moves, while people watched. Then, they would teach whoever wanted some easy figures.

When a waiter walked by with a tray full of champagne flutes, Arash took two and gave one to Eliza. They both sipped on their bubbly alcohol.

"So, uhm, you want to dance?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, putting the glass on a table nearby. They went to the dance floor and started dancing. At first, no one noticed them. But a redhead dancing in a bright yellow dress is quickly noticed, and people started whispering about the couple. Eliza was recognized, of course, but who was this mystery man? The people had seen enough Reports and read the special _Illéan Weekly_ to know the Selected's faces, by now. But he was a mystery.

When Eliza and Arash walked to the side to take a break and let the professional dancers make their show, someone quickly came up to the couple.

"Princess Elisabeth?" a woman said.

Eliza turned around. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you," the brunette said. "I'm Kay, and I'm a huge fan of yours!"

"Thank you," Eliza said a bit wary of this new person.

The brunette grinned. "I was wondering if I could take a picture with you guys?"

"Uh, sure," Eliza said. Eliza stood between the girl and Arash, and Kay took the selfie.

"So," the girl said. "You come out here often?"

"No, this is actually the first time," Eliza said. "It was Arash's idea, and I thought _why not_?"

Kay looked at Arash, trying to place him. Why was the name familiar? Yet he was none of the selected… "You come here often?"

"No, this is my first time, too," he said. "Eliza, we should go," he said, whispering to the princess.

She frowned. "Where? We've been here only for an hour."

"I know," he replied. "Please excuse us," he said to the brunette.

"Of course," she said, following them with her gaze.

"People are going to ask questions about us. I'm not even supposed to be in your Selection."

Eliza shrugged. "She's just a fan. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Arash sighed. "Fine, if you say so." When Eliza and Arash came back to the dance floor, Kay had disappeared.

"See?" Eliza said. "Nothing to worry about. Come one, the pros are dancing, I want to see them."

Arash nodded and they stood on the side watching. It was really impressive. People called it Swing Dance. It was fast, lively, and looked really fun, when you know the moves. After a twenty-minute show that Arash and Eliza watched, clapping their hands and laughing, the dancers showed the public some moves, and the whole dance floor was full to the brim.

That's when Arash suggested they go eat something. He claimed he was hungry. They walked out the front door, Kay watching them from the shadows the whole time. She saw them climbing in a black car and leaving the area.

"That was fun!" Eliza said as Linus drove them to a building a couple of blocks away. It was a 71-floor building, towering above Los Angeles, and they went all the way to the penthouse, where a very fancy restaurant was – called the _71Above_ – serving only haute cuisine, and with a magnificent 360° view over the whole city, with the ocean on the left.

"Oh, wow!" Eliza said, catching her breath. The restaurant was empty, and the illuminated city was taking up all the windows.

Arash grinned. "I asked for the whole restaurant," he said, "with a twelve-course gastronomy meal."

"Huh," Eliza said. "I wonder what we'll eat, then."

A waiter showed them their table, and Eliza couldn't keep her eyes off the view. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting a golden gleam over the city at their feet. Twelve dishes came in and out during the evening, and they talk about lots of things. She asked him about his own 'Selection', how he and all the Emperor's eighteen-year-old and older children fought in a competition of physical, mental, and emotional capacity. He finished third, Hassan and Kamran being the first two, and their sisters Alina and Bita being fourth and fifth. And only the first five were selected to inherit the throne. For now, Hassan was crown prince.

Around eleven o'clock, they headed home, chatting on the way. Neither of them was expecting Millie to meet them in the Main Entrance, a devilish grin on her face.

"Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie," she said, tutting her sister. "You are so screwed. And I didn't do anything this time." She laughed. "I wonder why you two thought of going on a date. _AND_ in a public place _filled_ with people." She shook her head and handed the tablet she was holding to Eliza. "Here, read this. Good night!" She walked away, the sly grin still on her face.

Eliza looked at the article. It came from a blog called _.com_ and written by… "Oh no," Eliza said. "You were right! That girl who talked to us was a blogger!" she scrolled through the pictures. There was one of her and Arash drinking champagne. Another one of them dancing, and another one of them looking at the dancers. The last one was the selfie they took with the brunette.

 ** _Princes Not Enough?_**

 _Nearly 23 nations from around the world sent suitors to compete for Princess Elisabeth's hand, but this wild redhead doesn't seem to be satisfied. I spotted the princess at the Cicada Club, a 20's club in downtown LA. She seemed to be on a date, unsurprisingly, but what was news to me was that the man she was with was not one of her many gorgeous suitors. Apparently, the idea to come to the Cicada Club was his idea. The princess was seen dancing with this mystery man, and they left the club together. Who could he possibly be? Is he Princess Eliza's secret boyfriend? What will the Selected say? I would love to have 20-something guys fighting over me, but I guess Princess Eliza just isn't satisfied._

By Kaydence LeStrange

Eliza frowned. "You've got to be kidding me," she said. "It's been shared five thousand times! And going up!"

"Really?" Arash said, looking over her shoulder, worried. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have taken you there. This was a mistake!" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Eliza said. "I'll fix this." _Somehow_ , she thought. "I'm gonna go to bed. Thanks for tonight, Arash." She offered him a small smile and hurried up to her room, the tablet still in her hand. When she had arrived in her room, the articles had doubled its sharings, with millions of views, and thousands of comments coming in by the minute. "Great," she mumbled. "I'm trending."

There were very nasty comments, calling her a woman of small virtue – in other words, of course – or even saying that she was not a real princess. Because a princess has only one prince charming. There were lots of hashtags shared in the comments, like _#RaphLiza_ , or _#TomLiza_ , or _#Elizalek_ , or even _#Jerniniko_! She had to laugh at that one. She clicked on the different hashtags, and saw loads of pictures of her with the boys, fanarts, and even some fanfictions. She sighed and turned off the tablet. First, she would do the 'mass' elimination. Then, she would deal with all this.

But first, she needed to sleep. Tomorrow, she still had lots of work and preparation to do for the eliminations…

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Monday morning, Men's Parlor._**

"Good morning," Eliza said, coming in. She was wearing a black skinny jeans, with nude flats, and a grey top with a big gold necklace. She didn't want to wear a skirt or a dress, because she didn't feel like it. She sat on the table in front of the room, which didn't look like a 'classroom' anymore. The boys were seated in various places – couches, armchairs, the floor, or even standing – and waiting.

"What's up?" Tomlin asked, nonchalantly. They all knew the first dates were over and that Eliza would be eliminating some of them. If was part of the Selection game, and they knew it. They just hoped it wasn't them being eliminated, but the others.

"Well," Eliza started, "as you may know, I have had the occasion to go on a date with each and every one of you. I took into consideration my time with you, my feelings, but also the political side of the matter. And of course, I had to keep in mind what Millie did and found on you." She sighed. "So, I spend the weekend working on this, talking with your governments to finding agreements."

"Agreements?" Rafe asked. "What kind?"

"Strengthen alliances through trade agreements, for example," she replied. "It was a lot of work, but it should be a win-win situation for our countries." She paused. "So." She took a paper from her pocket. "Arash, as you may know, you weren't even in the Selection to begin with, and with Saturday night's fiasco with the article, I think it's best for you to leave the competition."

"Of course," he said. "I never claimed to be in the competition in the first place, anyway. But Saturday was fun, even though… you know." he chuckled nervously.

"About that article," Alek said. "I didn't know there were hashtags for ships about us."

Everyone laughed.

"Yes, well, neither did I," Eliza replied, hoping they hadn't seen the fanarts and fanfictions. She looked at her paper again. "Next, we have Adrien. I'm sorry," she said. "But you're five years younger than I, and as much as I really like you as a friend, there's nothing more there."

"Yeah, I figured," he said lightly, trying to hide the fact that he was a little disappointed. "And I'm from the smallest country, which won't help much in the terms of an alliance. We weren't very stable with you guys, to begin with, anyway."

"Maybe not, but I managed to stabilize our alliance," she said.

"Oh, good," Adrien replied, surprised.

"Quin, it was really fun getting to know you, and all, but I really don't see any connection, I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, I didn't feel any connection either."

Eliza nodded, but didn't elaborate in front of everyone what arrangement she had made with the S.A.U.S government. If Quin wanted to know, he'd ask her or his dad later on. "Rama, I'm afraid it's the same reason than Quin. I had lots of fun with you, and you helped me figure out what I wanted to do, with the hospitals and all, but there weren't any deeper connections. And from what I gathered, you miss Bangladesh and your tiger, right?" she asked with a knowing grin.

Rama sighed and nodded. "Yes, well. I guess that's that…"

Eliza tried to offer him a smile, but it was getting harder and harder. "Actually, it's pretty much the same with most of you on my list," she said. "It was really nice to get to know you, our date was fun, but either I- we didn't feel a connection deeper than friends, either there was no connection at all…"

"That would be me," Kwasi said, bitterly. "I know you've never really liked me from the start, and I'm still wondering why you kept me this long, even after our disastrous date."

Eliza chuckled nervously. "Because I said I wouldn't eliminate anyone until after I had done the first dates. But don't worry, there are no hard feelings with your government."

Kwasi raised an eyebrow. "Good to know."

"On that list, there are also CJ and Otávio. Our dates and moments together were really fun and all, but again, there was no deep connection, at least on my part. And you've been here for a month and a half."

CJ and Otávio nodded, but didn't say anything else. She knew CJ was a huge romantic and that he would take this personally, but she trusted him to come to talk to her later if he needed.

"Now, Haruhito, I've figured something out for you, we can talk about it in private, afterward."

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Wait," Jinhai said. "If he's not staying, I'm not staying either."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, okay?"

"Yeah, with the War going on back home, I think I need to go back. And I need to make sure Haruhito is okay, too."

" _Hashtag HaruHai_ ," Rafe said. "They forgot that one…"

The others laughed, but not Haruhito and Jinhai.

"That's it," Eliza concluded, her shoulders slumping a little.

"Well, it's part of the game," Raphael said.

"Easy for you to say," Rama replied. "You're not being kicked out."

"True," Raphael said. "But I was ready to leave if it was how she wanted it."

"Are you kidding me?" Nikolai said. "She was never going to eliminate you. You're like probably in the top three on her _not-eliminated-list_."

Everyone chuckled, and Nikolai noticed Eliza blush, not meeting their eyes. She jumped down from the table. "Okay, well." She sighed. "The eight who, uhm, are going home can go pack your things, say goodbye, whatever. A limo is going to take you to the airport this afternoon, before dinner." She started for the door. "Haruhito? Can we talk outside?"

He nodded and the New Asian prince followed her to another room, and they sat down on a couch.

"Okay, so here's my idea," she said. "You'll write a letter to your father, telling him of your decision of your 'suicide'. You make sure to tell him that Illéa had nothing to do with it, and that was because of the new development in New Asia-"

"Which is true," he said. "Do you know why he sent me here in the first place?"

"No?"

Haruhito sighed. "I'm 95% sure about this, but I think he wanted me out of his way to do what he did – kill his own brother. He knew I would have tried to stop him, because there was no way I would agree to be the Crown Prince."

"What about your sister?"

"Riko? She can't be the Heir. Only boys can in New Asia. And my little brother's much better at this than I am." He sighed. "And then? once I send the letter?"

"Then you can disappear. Either in Illéa, where I can give you some addresses, or elsewhere. But I'd advise you to choose a destination in a neutral country."

"Like Switzerland?" he said sarcastically. Switzerland was known to be a neutral country, a solid rock on the planet.

"If that's what you want, then yes. I can see with Raphael if something can be done with Switzerland. But you'll have to have a new identity and all."

"I can deal with that," he said. He sighed, thinking. "Maybe I'd like to stay in Illéa, for a few weeks, to figure out my next move. But I'm sure my father will want some proof that I'm really dead. You'll need to send a body to my dad. And he'll probably want to have it analyzed, and when he sees it's not me, he's probably gonna nuke Illéa."

"Right," Eliza said. "So…"

"Fire. It's the only way. You'll just send a bunch of ashes in an urn, with some of my DNA, like blood drops or something. I'm sure your bodyguard friend can figure out something. He was in the secret services one time, right?"

"How do you know that?" Eliza said.

"I'm an author. I know how to do my research."

Eliza chuckled. "Okay, then. We'll fake a fire or an explosion, mix some of your DNA or something in it, then send it to your father." He let out a breath. "Let's just hope this works."

"It will. If anything, he'll be angry with me. Not you. But then again, I was never the perfect son he wanted me to be. So he's not gonna miss me that much."

Eliza looked at the Prince. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. At least now I can be whoever I want to be," he said.

They talked a bit more about the preparations and then Haruhito went directly to his room. Eliza had work to do. But first things first: call Ruby to come to take goodbye pictures of the Selected going home. All but Haruhito, who would have another goodbye, a little later, and a little differently.

 _ **END PART 1**_

* * *

 _ **Hi! so, there you have it! Eight guys will be going home! thanks to**_ BerryBush123 _ **,**_ Booklovin'03 _ **,**_ Millyna _ **,**_ sevenzeroseven _ **,**_ Michelle the Editor _ **,** G00N **,**_ BaileyandAubryandIvy _ **, and**_ The Pocketwatch Ripper _ **for your characters! it was really fun playing around with them, and I hope you won't have any hard feelings for me, and that you will continue to read** (and even you don't, I would totally understand) **and submit to more stories!**_

 _ **If you guys want to write Companions of them going back home, you can! ;)**_

 _ **Also, you already know that I'm gonna be taking a break for a few weeks** (I honestly don't know how long) **, and I'm sorry about this, I have never done that during my past FF stories... but I've been writing non-stop since I started Yesterday Meets Tomorrow, last April, and have written YmT, my Nano Project, and now TWIW. I know that during the past years of writing I sometimes need to take a break in my writing because I don't find any more pleasure in writing right now.I'm pushing myself, and I really don't like it. So I'll need a few weeks** (maybe a whole month, maybe more, maybe less, I don't know yet) **to get back into the mood of writing. So please be patient with me!**_

 _ **in the meantime, if you have second dates ideas, plot points for your OCs in the future, feel free to send them my way! I will still be active on the Discord or through PM on FF, so don't worry about that ;) Thanks for your support, for reading, and for your constant reviews** (even if they come late^^lol) **! See you soon for PART 2 of the story!**_


	40. Chapter 40

**PART 2**

 **Chapter 40**

It had been two weeks since Eliza had eliminated practically half her suitors. And in those few days, she had been called all kinds of names in the press. The first of many awful articles was one calling her a racist.

She had read it at least ten times, not believing it the first time around. But it was there, all over the news, and shared and "liked" (with a little frowning emoji) thousands of times on social media. She could even recite it by heart. It went like this:

-.-

 ** _Tall, Dark and Gone! Is Princess Eliza racist?_**

 _The people of Illéa were beginning to wonder when Princess Eliza was going to eliminate any of her suitors. However, just over the past week, Eliza eliminated a good chunk of her selected. Mass eliminations aren't uncommon in Selections; they have happened before in the past but many people have brought up an interesting connection: many of these suitors were darker skinned princes. Pastor Otávio of Brazil, Prince Quinlan of S.A.U.S., Prince Kwasi of UN of Africa and Prince Rama of India. Suspicions have arisen that Princess Eliza is a racist and that Prince Adrien of Monaco and Cassius of Italy were caught in the crossfire. When asked, several citizens believe that Princess Eliza is racist, although to what degrees varies. The Royal family has not commented yet on these arising suspicions. ~_ By Pacific. P. Pocket.

-.-

But _racist_ was not the only name she was called. _Attention seeker, whore,_ and _spoiled child_ were some of them. She tried to ignore them, but when she went on her weekly hospital visit with Cian, Rance, Seb, and Tom, people were cold and rude with her, and almost pitied the four princes. She kept her chin high during the whole visit, but asked to stay alone on the flight back from Paloma, even when Tom or Seb tried to cheer her up.

She really hadn't made the best choices in her life. If felt like everything she said, did, or chose was scrutinized and twisted. She hadn't intended to do anything racist. The connections with the suitors she had eliminated were simply non-existent. At least in the romantic side, but that was the most important side in a Selection, right?

And helping Haruhito fake his suicide was also a bad choice. The New Asian Emperor had blamed her for it and declared their countries fatal enemies. The relationship between Illéa and New Asia was fragile at best, with only a trade agreement. But Michihito, his father, had stopped everything, and created an embargo towards Illéa.

Eliza knew they were the next on their list…

Even showing up on the Report in front of a practically empty Live Audience had been awful, for everyone. But one thing was sure, she needed to finish her Selection, do as little mistakes as possible, find the love of her life – if such a thing existed – and build up her empire again. Her kingdom. Whatever.

 **-x-x-x-**

Seven days since eight of her suitors left. The Palace seemed emptier and less noisy. August was rolling on, and it would soon be September.

The book on her lap had been opened on the same page for the past fifteen minutes. She wasn't sure if she kept reading the same paragraph over and over again, or if she had stopped reading altogether. But the knock on the door made her jump nonetheless.

"Come in," she said, her voice dripping of boredom. She really didn't want to see the Selected, but she had to at least pretend she wanted to, right?

"Sweetie, are you all right?" a warm familiar voice said.

Eliza smiled at the sound of Andromeda's soft footsteps on the carpet. She was honestly the only person she would tolerate right now. Okay, fine. The only person she really wanted to see right now.

"I'm okay," she replied.

"No, you're not," her grandmother said, sitting next to the redhead young woman. "There is a plate full of cinnamon rolls on the table, and you're not even eating them. What's going on?"

Eliza sighed and looked at the sweets on the table. They were her favorites, right? She shrugged and closed the book on her lap. "I don't know. I just don't feel like eating." If she did, people would call her obese, and that's one word she didn't want to hear, especially after the night she had to wear a corset…

"My dear Elisabeth," Andromeda said. "Since when do you mind what people say? You're strong and bold, and not scared of anything."

Eliza snorted. Not elegantly like Niko – she should ask him how he did it, by the way – but more in a wet and loud kind of way. Not at all like a princess. But do Princesses snort? Probably not? "That's where you're wrong. I'm not strong. At least not anymore."

Andromeda smiled. "Well then, be strong again," she said. "The boys need you to be, and so do I. And so does the country."

"No they don't," she said. "They hate me."

"They don't." The old woman coughed in her handkerchief. "You need to show them you don't care what they say and that no one can dictate your life. You will be the reigning monarch of this country, one day, and we all need you to be exactly that. Not a girl crying over herself."

"At least I'm not eating or drinking myself into oblivion," Eliza said sarcastically. "Mother would be proud of me."

"Eliza," Andromeda said after a few minutes of silence. "Can you promise me one thing?"

"Depends what it is," she replied, not wanting to say yes to anything.

"Don't forget to have fun, and to include the boys into your daily life, even when you feel miserable."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Who wants to be with me when I'm miserable, seriously?"

Andromeda's sweet smile warmed Eliza's heart. "Sweetheart, if they can't handle you at your worst, they don't deserve you at your best, trust me."

Eliza smiled. "Thanks." She looked at the plate on the coffee table and took a cinnamon roll. "You want one?" she asked her grandmother.

"No thank you," she said. "You enjoy them." She planted a kiss on her granddaughter's brow and left the room without another word.

But as much as she wanted to stay away from the world and everything in it, she had a trip planned for the next day: Alek's sister's Coronation… in Swendway. Eliza stretched on the couch and braced herself for the next step. She rang for Samantha, her lady's maid, and waited. Two minutes later, Samantha was there.

"You called for me milady?"

"Yes. Are my suitcases ready for tomorrow morning?"

"Almost, milady," Sam replied. "I just need your approval for the gowns and various outfits."

Eliza nodded and they both headed to the gigantic walk-in closet. Several gowns were hanging on the side, waiting. Eliza ran her fingers on the silk of the dresses, loving the cold touch of the fabric.

She had to choose her dresses carefully: not too impressive, because she was just a guest and it wasn't her coronation, yet – thank goodness – and not too common either, because she was still the Crown Princess of Illéa, Heir to the Throne. She didn't want a dress too eye-catching either. It was the same thing as going to a wedding: you do not dress better than the bride herself. Only Amina Catarina Flora Narsson was not a bride, but the next Queen of Swendway. Alek's father was stepping down.

After debating for several dozen minutes on the perfect dress she should wear for the Coronation Ceremony, she had to choose the dress for the reception and Ball afterward. And then some other evening gowns for dinners and events, and some less formal outfits for outings.

"You do know that I'll be there only three days, right?" Eliza said, looking at Samantha, and then at the dozen outfits and gowns spread out around the room. "Are you sure I need all of this?"

"You'll thank me later, milady," she replied. "You'll be happy to have lots of choices once you get there."

Eliza sighed. "True." After approving the dresses, she had to approve shoes, pieces of jewelry, and pick the perfect tiara to go with the Coronation ceremony dress, and another one to go with the Ball gown.

By the time she had finished, it was time to get ready for dinner. She let Sam help her into an elegant grey tulle and pearl dress with a nice low bun and some stiletto heels. Now that the Selected were only half of the number they were before, she had decided to eat every meal at their table.

The first course arrived, and Eliza only pretended to eat, pushing the food around, while the young men around her wolfed their food down, as elegantly as possible.

 **-x-x-x-**

After dinner, Eliza initially didn't want to linger around, but just head to bed and get some hours of sleep in advance before the horrible jetlag that would come hitting her in the face in a few hours.

"Hey, Eliza?" a familiar voice called from behind. But to be honest, all the boys' voices were becoming familiar, now. And she kind of liked it.

She turned around and met Rafe's round blue eyes. "Yeah?"

"Uhm, since you're gonna be gone for a week, I was wondering if we could just like, I don't know, spend some time together now?" He flashed her his best smile in the hopes that she would say yes. The princess had not been on a single date since the last elimination. So this would be the official first date of the second round.

"Sure," she said, hiding her frustration of not being able to dodge everyone and go to bed. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Rafe nodded. "Just a walk in the garden? I have some Champagne gummy bears," he said, taking out a small box from behind his back and smirking.

Eliza chuckled. "You got me at Champagne," she said.

"Great," Rafe replied. He offered her his arm and they headed outside. She was glad the boys were confident enough to ask her out, now, and that she didn't have to do all the work by herself anymore. And it would show her who was the most inclined to spend time with her, and to go out of their way for her. Maybe who liked her best.

"Do you mind if we walk in the grass?" she said. "I'm going to take off my shoes, and walking on the gravel is not very comfortable."

"Of course," he nodded. He let go of her arm so she could lean on him to take off her shoes and they walked in companionable silence for a couple of minutes. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly. "With all those articles and stuff this week…?"

Eliza took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm not sure, to be honest." She paused. "I think it will do me good to leave for a few days, just to be away from all this negativity, you know?" When she saw his confused face, she quickly corrected her statement. "Not that you guys are negative or anything. It's just the bad press. Everything I do or say is twisted."

"Yeah, I know…" he sighed. "I'm sorry you have to go through that. I know it sucks."

"Thanks," she said, looping her arm through his.

Rafe grinned. The beautiful girl on his arm was making him feel all funny inside. They walked some more and ended up at Eliza's tree house.

"Come on," she said. "It's quiet up there."

"Are you sure?" Rafe said. After all, this was Tomlin's house.

"Yes. This is my house, I can bring whoever I want up there."

"Okay," he said. He followed her up the stairs, and while she unlocked the door with the key hidden in the flower pot on the window, Rafe waited, watching her. Once inside, she turned on the fairy lights and sat down on a pile of pillows. She sighed happily. Rafe opened the box of champagne candy, and they both took one.

"If this is the only way for me to get tipsy without actually drinking, then I'll take it."

Rafe laughed. "Yeah, I didn't think your mother would like it if I carried an actual bottle of champagne while walking with you in the gardens."

Eliza giggled and took another gummy bear. "These are now my favorites candies," she said popping one in her mouth. "I can't believe I've never had them before you showed them to me…"

"Well, you only really start living once you tried champagne gummy bears," he said with a smirk.

They chatted, ate the candy, laughed, and yawned, until both were a bit tipsy. Without even realizing she was doing it, Eliza leaned on Rafe, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. On their first date, he had only given her a hug (or two?). Now, he wanted more. But what would she say if he tried to kiss her? Would she push him away? Or would she kiss him back?

There was only one way to know.

Rafe leaned in to kiss the beautiful redhead princess next to him. His lips touched hers – which tasted of champagne and laughter – and he pressed a tiny kiss on them, waiting for her reaction.

Eliza was surprised at first, but it didn't take long for her to kiss him back, and to press her own lips against his, asking for more. They were round, and warm, and inviting, and Eliza obliged.

"Jeeze," Rafe said between two kisses.

"What?" she replied, slightly out of breath.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time…"

She giggled and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders while his hands searched her waist and hips. After a tangled debate of what to do, they ended up practically buried in the mountains of pillows that littered the floor of the tree house. It was a knot of arms, and legs, and pillows, and giggles. Rafe was on top of Eliza, and the Princess didn't mind. She was drunk, and didn't care.

Until there was a ripping sound.

Both froze.

"What was that?" Rafe asked, not moving.

"Probably my dress," Eliza replied on the verge of laughter. "An evening gown is probably not the best outfit for a make-out session among pillows in a tree house."

Rafe chuckled. "Probably not." He carefully got off of her, trying not to step on the fabric of her dress and tear it even more. He helped her up and they laughed. The tulle of the skirt was all ripped away from the left hip.

"Oh well," Eliza said looking at the damage. Good thing there are dozens of layers of tulle, right?" she giggled. "Sam is gonna kill me for ruining the dress though."

"Sam?"

"Samantha, my Lady's Maid."

"Oh," he said. "Maybe we should head back inside before we do more damage to it…"

"Yeah, maybe you're right," she said. They wobbled their way down the wooden stairs and back inside the Palace walls. Rafe escorted her to her room, where he kissed her again, pushing her up against the door. At that precise moment, she didn't care who saw them. This was her Selection, and it was her _duty_ to date the boys, right?

After a long kiss that made them both breathless, they finally broke away and Eliza went into her room, biding her date goodnight. Rafe just stood there grinning. When the door was closed, Rafe did a little victory dance in the hallway, shooting his fists in the air, and dancing the boogie-woogie down the stairs to the second floor and making little _whoop_ sounds.

"Uhm, everything alright, Rafe?" Nikolai asked, walking down the hall to his room.

"Yes, everything is fine indeed," he grinned.

Niko rolled his eyes and snorted _elegantly_ , like he always did. "Let me guess," he said. "You just had an evening date with Eliza."

"Better."

"You kissed her?" he asked, making a face.

Rafe nodded proudly. "Yep, and I'm gonna make sure everyone knows about it."

"Oh, please," Niko said. "Please keep the details to yourself."

"Did you know that her dress was ruined in the process?" he said, ignoring Nikolai's request.

"Please, don't-"

"And she just laughed it off. Her lips tasted like-"

"Stop!" Niko said. "Please. Besides, you're drunk. Just go to bed."

"Nah," Rafe said. "I'm not _that_ drunk. We only ate gummy bears."

Niko shook his head in disbelief and headed to his room. And so did Rafe. But first he knocked on several doors, telling everyone of his exploits, and how her lips tasted champagne, and how her tulle dress was ripped off. As he told the story, the details became more and more exaggerated. It was like he was playing the telephone game by himself, amplifying the facts on his own.

"Get out," Raphael said when Rafe had boasted his story to him. "You're drunk."

"Yeah, but that's where the fun is," Rafe replied. "You don't start an epic story with a salad and a bottle of water. Cheer up, dude!"

"Just-" Raphael sighed and stood, pushing Rafe out of his room. "Get out and go to bed." He tried to stay calm, but with the notion that Eliza had practically slept with Rafe – at least that's how he had told the story, or how he had interpreted it, anyway – finding sleep would be hard. Rafe went to find his bed, while Raphael took out his black leather-bound journal and his favorite fountain pen, like every night.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I don't know how long I can do this anymore. Eliza is the love of my life, but there are still twelve other guys who I have to share her with. I really didn't think I would get attached like this, but now it's done, and I can't go back._

He paused in his writing, wanting to choose the words carefully.

 _Seeing her with the others hurt more than I was expecting, even though I knew what I was signing up for. I just didn't expect to fall in love. Besides, how am I to finish the Air Force training and study engineering if I marry her? But if I don't marry her, I'll be alone and lost for the rest of my life. I'll never fall in love again. Eliza is the ultimate love of my life, and I_

He stopped writing and snorted. "This is way too cheesy and stupid," he said. He tore out the page from his beautiful notebook, crumpled it, and threw it in the trash bin next to his desk. It was the first time in many years Raphael tore out a page. It was the first time he didn't like what he was writing. He didn't know if it was because he was afraid to see his true feelings black on white, or if he thought it was childish. Either way, the page was gone, and he put the journal away, without even writing anything in it, also for the first time in years…

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Tuesday Morning, Royal Jet._**

Alek and Eliza climbed in the private royal jet that would take them to Europe for Amina's Coronation. From the moment they left Illéan soil, though, Alek hadn't said a word. He kept his gaze on the clear blue sky with the occasional white puff of clouds, and Eliza took her book – she was still reading the second book of _Tales Untold_ – and started reading. After some time, she needed to stretch her legs and walked the length of the aircraft three times, until the blood flowed in her legs again. When she came back to her seat, Alek still hadn't moved a finger, still staring into space. Literally.

"Hey, Alek, is everything okay?" she asked, sitting on a seat near him.

He forced himself out of his thoughts and looked at the young woman across from him. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Sorry." He chuckled nervously and looked down at his hands in his lap. "It's just… I don't know what my coming back home, even for only a couple days, will do, you know? With my dad and all."

Eliza nodded. "I see." She looked at the cloudless sky, and then below them. They were still over Illéa, and closing in on the east coast. "You can ignore him, and him you, right?"

Alek snorted. "Not really. I mean, we can avoid talking to each other, but we'll be at the same table and practically next to each other during the Crowning Ceremony." He shrugged. "But I'm not going for him. I want to be there for Amina."

"I know," she said softly. "And she'll be your Queen. You have to be there."

He nodded. "Yeah. It's weird to realize that she'll be the Queen, now… My dad has always been the King, but now, he won't be anymore."

"Yeah, I know how it feels."

"Only for you," he said, " _you_ become the Queen in place of your father."

"True," she admitted. "And it's going to be even weirder for me to _be_ the Queen. I won't be able to rely on my dad for the tough decisions, anymore. It'll all be on me."

Both royal people were silent for a moment, enjoying each other's presence for a moment.

"I'm glad you're coming with me," Alek said. "I don't know if I could have done this alone."

"I'm glad I'm coming with you, too," she said with a grin. "It was a good excuse to get away from the Selection, and a good way to meet your sister, and to honor the new Queen of Swendway."

Alek chuckled. "Amina's going to fangirl over you, I warn you."

Eliza laughed. "It'll be a nice change from the negative articles these past few days."

* * *

 _ **Hey guys!**_

 _ **yay! I finally started writing again, thanks to Camp Nanowrimo that is helping me push myself to the finish line of TWIW... I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that the second part of this story will be good! :)**_

 _ **if you have a second date idea for your OC, send them over,**_ otherwise _ **I'll just think of something^^**_

 _ **see you soon!**_


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

Seven hours later, the jet touched Swendway land, and Alek and Eliza were happy to finally be on firm ground. The flight had gone through some turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean, and Eliza hated that above all else.

When they stepped out of the aircraft in the rain, Alek was surprised to see no one to welcome him back home. When he came back from his expeditions, there usually was a group of fans waiting for him. Granted, it was raining. But still. Something was wrong. There was only a lonely black limo on the tarmac, and Alek and Eliza headed over there with flight attendants holding umbrellas over them.

"Welcome to Swendway," a female voice said from within the car, once Alek had climbed in. "It's good to see you back home." The young girl smiled broadly as she looked at her older brother.

"Jeyes! Oh my goodness it's so good to see you!" Alek said, embracing his little sister. "You're alone?"

"Yeah," she said shrugging. "I had to insist to come to greet you. Dad wanted no one knowing your coming."

"Why not?" Eliza asked.

"Oh, Jeyes, this is Eliza. Eliza, my little sister Jeyes."

"Honored to finally meet you, your Highness," Jeyes said. "And to answer your question, the official reply ma father gave was _this is Amina's week, not his_."

"In other words," Alek said looking outside as the car rumbled out of the airport, "he doesn't want everyone to know that his bisexual son is back home. He's ignoring me."

"Oh," Eliza said. "I'm sorry." She turned to the young girl on the other seat. "It's also an honor to meet you, Jeyes, but please just call me Eliza."

Jeyes chuckled. "Thanks." She paused. "So, how's the Selection going? I heard you eliminated lots of boys recently?"

"Yeah," Eliza replied. "I did. But let's not talk about the Selection, okay? I'm trying to keep my mind off it, this week."

Jeyes laughed. "That's going to be hard. After Amina's coronation, your Selection is what everyone talks about. Dad didn't want the people to know Alek was coming for the occasion, but I may or may not have leaked the fact that HRH princess Elisabeth Schreave was also coming. It's all over the social media, and even Amina tweeted that she was eager to meet you." She grinned, her eyes sparkling despite the grey sky and lack of sun.

"See? I told you Amina would fangirl over you," Alek said, lightly nudging Eliza in the ribs.

She rolled her eyes. "So you did."

Jeyes laughed. "You have no idea what you're walking into, Eliza."

The two girls continued to chat during the drive to the Stockholm Palace. Both Alek and Eliza were majorly jetlagged, and went to bed quite early for Swendway – six p.m. – which was really late for them.

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Wednesday morning, coronation day._**

Thanks to the jet lag, Eliza was still sleeping deeply when Samantha opened the curtains to let the European sun come in. She groaned and pulled her covers over her face. But the smell of warm cinnamon rolls with hot cocoa was enough to rouse her from her sleep. The breakfast tray was on the table on the other side of the room, so she had to come out of bed. She stretched herself and yawned, and finally decided to get up. She ate her breakfast without much ceremony while scrolling on her phone to find the latest news about everything. Apparently, New Asia had stopped their attack on Mongolia with the robots, ' _for the duration of the mourning and funeral period_ ', it said. Good. One thing less to worry about for now.

She also scrolled on twitter and choked when she saw a new hashtag all over the place: _# **elizaqueenofmyheart**_. She frowned. All the tweets using that hashtag were positive messages about Eliza. One read, for example:

 _'# **elizaqueenofmyheart** you make everything better # **hospital** # **royalvisit** # **princess** '_.

Another one said:

 _'# **elizaqueenofmyheart** you are the love of my life please come back # **selection** # **selected** # **princess** '_.

Okay, that one was from a user named **SwisterMister123** , and that was probably Raphael. Eliza rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the smile tugging at her lips. Whoever had started this had created a tsunami of positive energy on the Internet and it made her feel a little better.

But she didn't have time to linger on it any longer. Samantha was already rushing her to the bathroom, and urging her to wash her hair while she was at it. She obliged and came back twenty minutes later with her rose scented hair twisted in a fluffy towel and clad in an also fluffy bathrobe. She sat at the vanity table and let Samantha do wonders with her hair.

Until a light knock on the door made both ladies jump.

"I'll go see who it is," Samantha said.

Not a minute later, a young woman dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie came in, a giant grin on her face.

Eliza recognized her right away, but she wasn't sure if she had to call her _Highness_ or _Majesty_ , already.

Amina didn't give her a chance to decide because she was already talking. "Oh, my God! Elisabeth, it's so good to finally meet you!" she said, coming over and taking both hands of the redhead princess. "I wanted to say hi and to welcome you before everything happened and I wouldn't get the chance."

"Thank you," Eliza said. "It's an honor to meet you, too," she replied, smiling.

Amina practically jumped up and down on the carpet, her grin still practically splitting her face in two. Jeyes and Alek were right: she was fangirling.

"I'm so glad you could come! When Alek told me you would be coming with him, I couldn't sleep for days!"

Eliza laughed. "Well, it's nice to see someone who likes me…" she said a little bitterly.

"Yeah, I saw what people said about you in the press," Amina said with a sad face. "I'm so sorry you have to go through that. But know this: these people have no idea what it's like to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders." She paused. "And I imagine dating a bunch of guys under the scrutiny of the people isn't an easy thing either."

"You can say that again…" Eliza agreed.

Both princesses giggled.

"Anyway, I have to get back to getting ready, but it was amazing to finally meet you!" She gathered Eliza in a quick hug and walked back outside.

"Okay…" Eliza said, sitting back down to let Sam finish her hair. "That was… nice? But a little awkward?"

"She didn't get the chance to welcome you last night," Sam reminded Eliza. "And she sounded like a fangirl."

Eliza laughed. "Alek and Jeyes warned me. But she is sweet."

Sam continued to prepare Eliza's hair in a low and loose bun with some sort of braid on the crown of her head, the base to put the tiara on. She went over the family tree Alek had hastily drawn for her on the flight:

Two of Alek's relatives were married to other monarchs: his cousin Åsa Cecilia Nea Bousaidwas married to the Crown Prince of the Egyptian Empire, Faiz Yasir Abdul Bousaid, and his aunt Eira Louise El-Amin was married to the King of the Arabian Kingdom, Yousef Talib El-Amin. So she wouldn't just be meeting Swendway royalty, but Egyptian and Arabian too, countries who hadn't participated in her Selection for lack of free suitors, or for suitors of age...

Once hair and makeup were done, Sam helped Eliza in her gown for the coronation ceremony. She didn't understand why they would do the Ceremony in the morning, but she would simply follow the flow.

Some moments later, there was another knock on the door, and Sam went to open. Alek walked in, and when his eyes landed on Eliza and her magnificent asymmetrical grey-greenish gown covered in pearls and embroidery, his knees buckled under him and it took all his will not to fall flat on his face in front of her.

"Wow, you look…" he trailed off looking for the right word. "Gorgeous. Divine. Amazing. Beautiful."

"Thank you," she said before he could say another adjective. "You look pretty damn handsome yourself," she said. He was wearing the same official suit he had worn several months earlier for the introduction ball, green with golden embroidery, with his custom-made sword on his hip, white gloves, and a small crown on his head. Eliza felt her heart flutter at the sight of such a beautiful man.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so." She nodded and grabbed her tiny purse. Alek offered her his arm and they walked out of the room, and down the stone stairs. They were greeted there by Jeyes and Alek's parents.

"Princess Eliza," King Sven said. "It's an honor to have you with us, and to have Illéa represented through you. Please send my regards to your father."

"I will," Eliza said. "And thank you for having me here, with Alek," she said, emphasizing the fact that his son was here, too.

The King merely looked at his son, and grunted something no one understood. But it was still better than nothing at all.

"Please excuse him," Queen Catarina said. "Alek, you are of course most welcome here, and so are you, Elisabeth."

"Thank you, your Majesties." Eliza dipped in a small curtsy, and then they all filed out in old-fashioned carriages.

"Are you serious?" Eliza whispered to Alek. "Carriages with real horses?"

He chuckled as he helped her and his little sister climb in the second carriage. The King and Queen, with Amina and her husband Koll in the first one. They waited for the other carriages to fill with the rest of the extended family – aunts and uncles, cousins, crown princes, and Kings.

"So," Eliza said. "How long is the trip to the Cathedral in these things?"

"Well," Alek said, "if my memory serves me right, it should take us about two hours to go around all the city. People want to see their new Queen. If we were to go directly from here to the Cathedral in a carriage, it would take roughly fifteen minutes."

"So that's why we get a start so early," Eliza said, leaning on the plush seat.

"Yeah," Jeyes said. "And you have to smile and wave for two hours." She rolled her eyes. "But don't worry, I brought sandwiches and some water." She looked outside. "And we're not even going to leave soon. Yousef seems to have forgotten something inside."

Alek and Eliza both looked out the window, and Alek rolled his eyes. "He's always forgetting something. I wonder what it is this time, though."

Fifteen minutes later, the carriage caravan moved off and they headed through the crowded streets of Stockholm, where millions of people from all over Swendway had come to catch a glimpse of their future Queen in real life, even though the whole thing could be seen and followed on national and international TV.

For two hours, Alek, Eliza, and Jeyes smiled and waved, taking small sips from the water bottles as discreetly as possible. Alek couldn't take his eyes off the princess next to him, and Jeyes felt like a third wheel pretty quickly.

By the time they arrived at the Cathedral, their cheeks hurt from smiling. Alek helped both girls out of the carriage and walked with Eliza on his arm, under a thunder of cheers, flashes, and cameras following their every move.

Deep down, Alek hoped that this little week in Swendway with Eliza would sway her decision towards him. And maybe if the whole world saw them together at his sister's Coronation, it would weigh heavy on the scales...

Everyone entered the cathedral in a clean procession while an orchestra and a choir sang a song in Latin. Princess Amina Catarina Flora Narsson was the last to enter, after her husband, Archduke Koll Narsson. He would also be crowned Prince Consort during the ceremony.

She stood next to the throne now occupied by her father, waiting for the music to end. After that, everything went rather quickly, and Alek had to translate everything to Eliza, since the ceremony was done in Swedish. It gave the prince an excuse to be close to Eliza.

After the whole crowd of the Cathedral had walked out following their new Queen, the close family members climbed in their waiting carriages.

"Where's Jeyes?" Eliza asked when Alek closed the door behind him and the vehicle started moving away.

"She went with our cousins," he said, hiding the fact that he had asked her to.

"Oh," the princess said. "She's already bored of me?" Eliza smirked.

"No, I don't think so." Alek chuckled. "I guess she just wanted to give us some time alone, I don't know."

"Did she?" Eliza smiled and looked outside. "So we have another two hours of being dragged along by four horses?"

"A little less," he said. "We don't take the huge detour we took before. It should be just about an hour." He looked up at her, and she looked back at him, their gazes meeting for a few seconds. Eliza was the first one to blush, shy away, and look outside.

Alek decided to make the most of the hour ahead of them, and sat on the other side, next to her. He looked outside, and waved at the people crammed on the sides of the streets, hoping to get a wave from the royal family.

"So," Eliza said waving to her side of the street. "How does it feel to have your sister being Queen instead of your dad?"

Alek shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's too soon to tell." He paused. "But did you notice my dad grunting something to me this morning?"

"Yeah, that was awful."

"Actually, that's the most he has talked to me in the past two years." He snorted. "He's probably thinking I'm coming back to my senses, since I brought a girl as a date, and not a guy..."

Eliza shook her head. "Dating a girl doesn't make you less a bisexual. You're totally legit."

"Thanks," he said. "But I don't think my dad thinks like that..."

"No offense, but screw him. It's not your fault he's narrow-minded. You're you, and you're perfect like that. He has a problem, not you, for that matter."

Alek met Eliza's bottle green eyes and smiled softly. He didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, reaching for her neck with his hand. Her lips tasted exactly the same as the first time. But this time around, Eliza kissed him back.

And Alek was in heaven.

It was like the end of a perfect fairy tale, kissing the beautiful princess in a golden carriage. He just hoped this wouldn't be the end of their story.

The hour passed pretty quickly, and they arrived at the palace too rapidly for their taste.

"So, what now?" Eliza asked as the carriage rode off to the hangar.

"Well," Alek said linking his fingers with her. "There is going to be a whole official photo session in the gardens, but we can skip that, if you want. Then, we start getting ready for the evening reception. Banquet, then ball."

"Hmm," Eliza said, thinking. "Maybe we could go to the photo session for a little while, and then escape. It would be rude of us to bail on that. I'm sure Amina would want you in the pictures..."

"Yeah, you're right." He wrapped an arm around her waist and placed a soft kiss on her brow. "By the way, I think you wearing a tiara makes you look divine. Did I already say that?"

Eliza laughed and wrapped her arm around his middle. "I think you mentioned something like that this morning. Come on, let's go."

 **-x-x-x-**

After a horrible hour spent taking pictures with his family – especially with his father who made a whole fuss because he didn't want to stand next to his son – Alek and Eliza were finally free to escape unnoticed.

Almost.

Jeyes saw them leave and smirked. She would have to annoy Alek about it. It was her job as the little sister, anyway.

Alek gave a tour of the non-occupied floors of the Palace to Eliza, making sure to run into no one in the process. They ended up in his own apartments.

"So it was true," Eliza said. "You do have a whole collection of custom-made swords."

"I do, yes," he said proudly. "How's your fencing, by the way?"

Eliza grimaced. "To be honest, I haven't taken the time to practice since my birthday..."

Alek smiled and made a step toward her. He gently grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. "You've been dealing with lots of stuff. Don't apologize for something so futile."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. She sighed. "How am I to be Queen of Illéa if the people hate me, Alek?"

"With a good consort by your side," he said as matter-of-factly as possible. "It would be his job to make you look amazing and to have everyone love you." He paused and placed a light kiss on her lips. "While you make all the hard decisions, his job will be to make you everyone's Number One."

Eliza smiled and looked up into Alek's eyes. "I'm glad to see at least one of you gets the main part of the job," she said chuckling.

Alek grinned and kissed the young woman in his arm. Again. He couldn't get enough of her.

"Can I ask you something?" he said, searching her gaze. She nodded and he continued. "Did... something... happen between you and Rafe the other night?"

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Alek shrugged and let go of her. "I don't know, he was boasting that _something_ happened."

"Alek," Eliza said, serious. "Whatever happened, it's none of your business. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a kiss, right?" she asked sarcastically.

But there was only relief on Alek's face, and his shoulders relaxed. "Thank God."

Eliza laughed. "Please tell me he didn't say we slept together..."

"Well," Alek said. "He implied it."

"What an idiot..." Eliza said, shaking her head. But she wasn't surprised. It was Rafe, after all...

 **-x-x-x-**

 **Ballroom, Stockholm Palace, Swendway.**

One after the other, the royal guests of the Swendish monarchy were announced to the evening ball. Eliza fidgeted in the hall, waiting for her turn. She was nervous. Not only everyone had their eyes on her in Illéa, but now in Swendway too. She needed to behave well. Even better than well. She needed to be on her best behavior.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Elisabeth Regina Odelle Schreave of Illéa," the Butler called out, and Eliza stepped in, finding herself at the top of a giant stone staircase. She looked at the ballroom below her, and saw many people already there. Her Majesty Queen Amina Catarina Flora Narsson was sitting on her throne on a small stage, her husband standing by her side.

She walked all the way down the stairs and across the room, until she was in front of the new Queen. She curtsied low, her green gown – she had taken the time to change –spreading out around her. Amina nodded, trying not to make the huge crown slip from her head and Eliza rose and went to stand on the side. She hadn't even seen Alek, coming down the stairs. Her heart was drumming in her chest, and resonating in her skull. It was her introduction ball all over again, only she was not the host.

She tried to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. She couldn't even imagine her own coronation. The only thing she hoped was to have the man she loved by her side for this milestone in her life. She couldn't imagine doing this alone.

"Hey, you're okay?" a voice said near her ear. She turned to see who had spoken to her and it was Jeyes.

"Yeah, thanks," Eliza said. "I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"Maybe because it's going to be your turn soon," Jeyes replied with a grin.

"Don't remind me," Eliza said, shuddering.

Half an hour later, most of the guests had been announced, and now the whole crowd was invited to the banquet, a meal made of ten dishes, with the footmen bringing the plates in a choreographed manner. Eliza was careful to eat only a little bit of each dish, or the seams of her dress would explode before dessert was served. She chatted with her neighbors – Alek and Jeyes – until it was finally time to stretch her legs and start dancing. But not before Queen Amina had opened the ball with her husband, of course.

Alek and Eliza danced most of the night together, and went to bed at dawn.

* * *

 _ **Hi everyone!**_

 _ **hope you enjoyed this chapter, with a little more insight into Alek's family ;) I decided to post now because I won't home much until Monday, so what not^^**_

 _ **Remember to check the Aesthetic board on Pinterest, and to send me second date ideas for your OCs if you have one^^**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

Alek and Eliza had one full day to spend playing tourists in Stockholm or further away, as long as they didn't sleep until noon after the ball. They met up at ten in the morning, dressed in casual clothes with sunglasses and headed outside. No car, or limo, or helicopter was waiting for them. Alek led them to the royal garage, where several expensive sports cars were waiting, pristinely clean and shining.

"Oh wow," Eliza. "Are these yours?"

"Yep," Alek replied proudly. "I've been collecting them since I was sixteen."

"Ten years worth of cars," Eliza mumbled. While she had no collection to be proud of unless you counted degrees and mistakes...

"So, which one would you like to try today?"

"Uhm, I've never learned to drive, to be honest."

Alek smiled. "Not a problem. I can drive us. But the question still stands: which one?"

Eliza surveyed the many cars, and a matte black one caught her eye.

"Ooh, that one," she pointed.

Alek grinned. "I was hoping you would choose this one..."

They climbed in the said car and Alek was proud to make the car rumble in the garage, making the walls rattle around them.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Boys," she simply said. Alek chuckled and pressed a button to open the garage door and they drove out. They didn't go unnoticed in their sports car, and they had to drive out of the city for some time to find a small village with a nice little cozy restaurant for a late brunch.

"Linus would kill me if he knew I was out here without security," she said slyly. "I told him I was going to sleep all morning, and then I slipped out unnoticed."

Alek laughed after swallowing his bite of pancake. "Well, I hope he doesn't kill you," he said. "But you're safe with me. I know how to wield a sword."

"Of course, you do," she said. "But I doubt a missing sword would be of any use against a gun or kidnappers."

Alek raised an eyebrow. "Point taken. I can use my fists?"

At that, Eliza laughed out loud. "No offense, but you really don't strike me as the brawling sort..."

"You'd be surprised," he replied, slightly offended but brushing it off.

They continued eating and chatting, thankfully in the sanctuary of a small private room in the restaurant. When they were done, they headed back to their car, under the flashes of fans on their phones. They ignored them and drove on. Alek showed Eliza some iconic spots around the area of the capital, and they came back home only in the evening, too late for dinner with Alek's family.

When Eliza went back to her room, a pacing wolf was not-so-patiently waiting for her. As soon as she had closed the door behind herself, Linus exploded.

"Where the hell have you been, Liz?!" He demanded.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "With Alek," she replied defiantly. "And calm the hell down. I'm not dead and I'm here now."

"Look," he said, making a huge effort to stay calm. "I put my life on the line to be your security detail. And I need to know where you are at all times." He paused. "I need to know," he said again.

Eliza sighed and sat on her bed, exhausted. "Yeah, well nothing happened, I'm fine. I was perfectly safe with Alek. Now can I please go to bed? I'm exhausted, and we have a long trip back home tomorrow."

Linus stared at her for a whole minute, debating to add something else. He decided against it, and let it go. For now. "Fine. But don't do that ever again. At least let me know where you are."

"Fine," she said rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry. Good night, Linus," she added heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Linus reluctantly walked out of the room and went to stand guard in the hall with the other guards.

 **-x-x-x-**

The next morning, Alek and Eliza said goodbye to the Swendish royal family and headed to the airport, where the Illéan private jet was waiting for them. She just had time to scroll through social media to find out that a group of five guys from her Selection had done a hospital visit without her in Midston.

 ** _The Selected Uphold the Tradition._**

 _Wednesday, as HRH Princess Eliza has done for the past few weeks, five young men from her Selection headed to Midston for the weekly hospital visit. The Earl from New England, the Lieutenant from Switzerland, the Duke from Poland, the prince from Russia, and the prince from Spain spent the day with the children in a specialized hospital treating cancer, and played with the delighted kids. One thing is sure: even if Eliza is out there spending some vacation with one of her suitors, the others stay serious in their mission. Whoever she chooses will be a great Consort. Who will it be? People have started to take bets all throughout Illéa. Who are you betting on?_ – By Isabel W. Green.

She shut her phone as the plane took off from European soil and sighed. The article had started well, praising the Selected. But why did the press _always_ twist her own actions? She wasn't on a vacation, for Christ sake. She had represented her country for Queen Amina Narsson's coronation. But she was starting to get used to bad press, whatever she did.

She took her book, hoping to finally finish _Tales Untold, book two_ , but after an hour or two of flight, Alek suggested they play a game of UNO. Which they did. But playing one against the other was boring, so they invited Linus, Samantha, and a couple of other flight attendants to join the game. Turned out Linus was very competitive, and it was a nice diversion.

The jet landed in Angeles and everyone walked out under a clear blue sky and a violent sun, scorching everything below it. August in the west coast was always dry and felt like an oven. A warm gush of air met Eliza.

"Home," she said grinning, used to the heat.

"Is it always like this?" Alek asked. He hadn't noticed how hot it had been until he had been in the cool weather of Stockholm for a few days.

"Yes, but you get used to it," the princess replied. They drove in a black air-conditioned limo back to the Illéan Palace, where the other suitors were waiting for them, drinks and snacks laid out on a table, in the shade of the garden.

"Welcome home!" Rafe and Tom said in unison.

"Thank you!" Eliza said, hugging them all in turn. "It's good to be back, even if these few days were just what I needed."

"I hope you're well rested," Henri said, "because there is a lot to do."

Eliza laughed. "Like what?"

"I'll give you a detailed schedule once you're settled in. For now, enjoy your _welcome home_ party." The Selection coordinator smirked and headed back inside, not wanting to spend too much time with this group of loud boys. And to say that one of them would be prince consort... He rolled his eyes and left.

Eliza drank – some – bear and ate snacks as the boys asked her and Alek how the Coronation was. They answered every single question while Eliza absentmindedly fiddled with the green watch Raphael had given her. She hadn't taken it off since her birthday, to be honest, and she liked to think about the young man who had given it to her. And just then, she looked up to find him, and when she did, he was already looking at her, a small smile tugging at his lips. She smiled back and looked at Henryk, who was asking her another question.

Almost as one man, the boys stood, welcoming a new member to their little party.

"Your Majesty," Nikolai said. And was that a smile? A real one? He stepped aside and left his seat for the Queen Mother.

"How kind of you, Nikolai," Andromeda said, coming over slowly with a golden cane. She sat graciously on the offered chair. "I can't believe you started this little welcoming party without me," she admonished playfully.

Eliza smiled and hugged her favorite grandmother. "I'm really happy to see you," she said. "How are you feeling?" she asked in a low voice.

"Oh, don't worry," Andromeda said. "They know." She smiled, and the beautiful smile wrinkles circling her blue eyes like sun rays appeared. "I'm fine enough to come to join you, "she continued. "But I won't be long. Tell me all about Swendway! I haven't been there in years. Decades!"

So Alek and Eliza told her everything again, shortening their story a little.

All the boys, including Eliza, tried to stay cheerful and to keep their smiles while the old woman was with them. But as soon as she was gone, an atmosphere of gloom fell on them, all knowing that she wouldn't be with them for long anymore. They needed to enjoy every minute.

-x-x-x-

 **Report stage.**

"Good evening, Illéa!" Ruby said, taking the stage for the weekly Report. "Before we get to the part you're all waiting for, King Oliver has a few words for us.

As if on cue, Oliver stepped forward and took the stage while Ruby stepped aside, giving him all the room.

"Good evening," he said. "As you may have heard, this week our ally and friend, Swendway, had a new monarch. King Sven stepped down after three decades of ruling, letting his eldest daughter, Queen Amina Narsson take his place. Elisabeth was there in our name, accompanying prince Alek." He paused, looking at his cards.

"I hope you are aware that here too, in Illéa, this will happen soon. Not in the near future, but you all have to get used to the idea that my daughter will be your Queen." He turned around and looked at Eliza. He smiled.

"Now," he continued, "I'd like to address something that's been bothering me in the past few weeks." He put on his serious face and took a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts.

"Mistakes are part of the human nature," he started. "And it's also human nature to point them out when we see them. But what is wrong is to twist good deeds and good decisions into something bad that is not there." He looked at the camera filming his face, trying to see the people in their homes. "When Elisabeth eliminated the first big group of suitors, recently, it was simply because there was no romantic connection. And the Selection is mostly a matter of love, even if this one is also political, as you may have noticed. She went over her list with me before going through with the eliminations, and I can assure you that her reasons we're legitimate." He paused again, taking a breath. "But I wanted to congratulate whoever started the hashtag # ** _elizaqueenofmyheart_** because it was amazing, and I'm sure Eliza herself saw it, right?" He asked turning to his daughter, asking for confirmation with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I have," she answered, surprised that her father would talk about it. Was he on social media, or did Henri tell him?

Oliver nodded and continued on with some random things people usually didn't listen too. Then, he finally gave back the floor to Ruby and she dove right into the Selection.

She asked the five boys who went to Midston to come to the front of the stage so she could ask them some questions.

Tom, Raphael, Henryk, Nikolai, and Latreall obliged.

"So," Ruby started, "whose idea was it to go visit that hospital without the Princess?"

"Mine," Raphael said, a proud smile on his handsome face.

"Why?" Ruby asked, curious.

Raphael shrugged. "I just wanted her to be able to count on me–on us, when she's not here. I mean," he continued humbly, "I guess I just wanted to let her know that I–we could be good potential consorts."

Ruby nodded and chuckled. "And how did you choose Midston Hospital for Cancer Kids?"

"We asked Henri the list of children hospitals," Latreall said, "and we just took one randomly on that list, among the ones that were not too far away."

Ruby nodded impressed."And between you and me," she said in a conspiracy tone. "Do you know who started the positive hashtag King Oliver mentioned?"

Tom shook his head. "No, we have no idea who started it, but it wasn't one of us," he said, looking at the others on the side of the stage for confirmation, and they all shook their heads.

"Okay," Ruby continued. "I saw one that was sent by a **_SwisterMister123_**. Was that you, Raphael?"

He laughed. "It was yes. The name wasn't really original, I know. But I wanted her to know it was me without being too conspicuous."

"Too late for that," Tom said in his thick British accent.

"We all sent a tweet or two," Henryk said. "We went with the flow. We thought it was a good idea."

"It was!" Ruby said. "But please tell us what your usernames are so we can follow you and retweet your tweets!"

The boys all chuckled awkwardly. They knew some of their usernames we're ridiculous, especially since most of them created new accounts for only the duration of the Selection.

"Mine is **british_partyer** ," Tom said.

" **marbles_and_games** ," Latreall said.

" **SwisterMister123** ", Raphael added. "But you already knew that."

" **coldheartcoldhands** ," Nikolai said a little sheepishly.

" **polishduke** ," Henryk said. "Not very original, I know."

Ruby laughed and went to the others on the side, and each one told their turn. The funniest one was Rafe's: **unicornsandpringles**. Everyone laughed at this one, and in a matter of minutes, hundreds, even thousands of people had followed them and retweeted their sweet tweets with the new hashtag.

Even Eliza was on her phone following the boys on social media; Millie was trying hard not to roll her eyes in front of everyone. Her fiancé, Kamran, sitting next to her, was also doing something on his phone. Was he following the Selected, too? No one would ever know.

After that, some official pictures of Swendway popped up on the big screen, showing Eliza in her gorgeous green gowns, alongside Alek in his green official costume, and the new Queen of Swendway next to her own husband.

"Well, that's all for today," Ruby said in conclusion, "but stay tuned until next week, and keep an eye out for the new Illéa Weekly, because there will be pictures of Swendway you haven't seen tonight, as well as some of the Selected in their swim trunks, and you'll be able to vote for your favorite! Good night, Illéa!"

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Sometime after the Report, and dinner…_**

Eliza was still wearing her dinner gown, but had taken down all the pins in her hair, and her red strands were lightly blowing in the evening breeze. The terrace couches were very comfortable, and she was trying to finish _Tales Untold, book two_. She just had a couple of chapters left. She could do it if no one came to interrupt her reading.

"Hey," someone said, coming out on the Terrace. "Mind if I join you?"

Eliza looked up from her book and smiled. "Only if you have chocolate," she said.

Raphael laughed. "As a matter of fact, I do," he said, handing her a bouquet of roses, made of different colors of chocolate: brown, white, pink, and dark.

Eliza closed her book without marking her page and stared at the chocolate flowers. "Oh, wow," she said. "Did you make that?"

"Yeah," he said. "I had some help, but yeah…"

She delicately took the bouquet in her hands and looked closely. "Oh! Chocolate covered-strawberries, too!"

"Yeah," he said, running his hand in his long dark curls. "I hope you like that."

"I do, a lot," she replied, grinning. "But it's almost too pretty too eat," she said. "And I'm full after dinner."

"Just a strawberry, then?" he suggested, plucking one from the bouquet and handing it to her.

"Ok, just a strawberry. But you take one, too."

Raphael chuckled and obeyed. But _just a strawberry_ turned out to be _the whole bouquet…_

"So," Raphael started, once they had eaten half the bouquet of chocolate. "Is it too soon to talk about a second date, or…?"

"A second date? No! Not at all! Did you have something in mind?"

Raphael smirked. "Maybe… But I'd have to check my idea with Linus, I think."

Eliza snorted. "Good luck with that." She chuckled. "He's been quite protective, these past couple weeks. If it's something dangerous, he'll never let you do anything, let alone come near me anymore."

Raphael laughed. "Yeah, well. I'm a lieutenant. I know how to get what I want. And if Linus won't let me, I'll just go ask higher. I'm sure your father would let me."

Eliza raised an eyebrow at Raphael. He had just gained several points of respect from the Princess to have the balls to ask the King for something like that.

* * *

 _ **Heeeyyyyy...**_

 _ **yeah sorry. This chapter took forever! I'm so sorry about that! But I've been trying to find the motivation to write again after my long break. I pinned some pins on the board, and I think it kind of helped. Also, I finished my TV show, so now I have more time...**_

 _ **Anyway, I have no excuse! And also, sorry the chapter's a bit shorter than usual, but I hope to get back to writing a few hundred words at a time, so I don't know how often I'll post...**_

 _ **Hope you liked this chapter and I can't wait to read your reviews! Again, if you have an idea for a second date (if you haven't sent one in, yet), please send one! (but if you don't have any ideas, it's okay, I'll find some^^)**_

 _ **see you soon!**_


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

After a weekend spent away from the public eye, but close to the swimming pool, watermelons, lemonades, and beers, it was time to get back to work again. September was just around the corner, and there was lots of work to do for the start of the school year, in Illéa. When Eliza read her schedule for the next couple weeks, she was surprised to see that she would have to go to the opening of the latest school Millie had funded. With her.

"But why? That's Millie's thing. She does the school stuff," she had said to Henri.

"It was your father's suggestion," he replied. "He thought you two should do something together, at least for the public. Her fiancé will be there, too, and you should choose five Selected to go with you. It will replace the hospital visit for that week."

After some thought, Eliza had chosen Henryk, Raphael, Hans, Rance, and Rafe to go with her, and they had several hours of flight to do before landing in Lakedon.

It was still very early in the morning, but the boys were already playing a game of UNO with Kamran, since it was the only fun game that was in the jet, while Eliza was reading, _Tales Untold, book three_. On the other side of the plane, Millie was 'working' on her computer, and from what Eliza could see on her screen from afar, she was looking at hijab pictures. Eliza couldn't see her face, but she would have given anything to see it. After some time, she took the gift she had prepared for her sister and walked towards her.

"Can I join you?" she asked, and sat anyway, without waiting for the answer.

"What do you want, Eliza? I'm in the middle of something, here," she said. She had quickly closed the tab with the pictures when Eliza had come over.

"There was just a little something I wanted to give you. Consider it as an early wedding gift, I guess," she said.

Millie eyed her sister suspiciously. "What is it? A bomb that will explode in my hands?"

"Hardly," Eliza said. "I wouldn't give you that in a flying plane, with me inside."

Millie snorted and took the blue-wrapped gift Eliza was handing her. She cautiously untied the white ribbon, and then delicately opened the paper. On top was a beautiful blue and white Gucci silk scarf.

Millie couldn't not say anything. "Oh, my God, it's beautiful!"

But under the scarf, laying on the blue paper, was a small book.

" _How To Get Hijab Ready_ ," Millie read out loud. "You're such a jerk," she hissed to her sister.

"What? No!" Eliza said. "It's just to help you get started! You were looking at Hijab pictures."

"You're impossible," Millie said, taking the gift as an insult. To be honest, Eliza had bought the book as a joke at first, but seeing her little sister looking at Hijab pictures, she figured it would be useful, in the end. Millie stormed away, to the back of the plane. But all alone in the little bathroom, she was actually trying on the Gucci scarf, Hijab-style, following a tutorial in the little book. But no one would know that. Not even Kamran. If she was going to have to wear this thing, she needed to own it the moment she set foot in Iran. She needed to practice.

Eliza joined the boys playing their game, and Henryk had already won, using all his cards, winning with a double +4 against Rafe, who had trouble holding his whole pile of cards. Clearly, he was going to lose.

"Luck or skill?" she asked Henryk, sitting down next to him.

"Both," he said. "I was lucky to sit next to Rafe and see his cards, and skillful enough to know what he was going to play."

Eliza laughed. "Remind me not to sit next to you when playing UNO."

Henryk chuckled. "Yeah, well. They wanted to continue to play, so I won, but I'm eliminated."

Eliza and Henryk waited for one or two more guys to win, and then they shuffled the cards and handed out a new set of cards to everyone, Eliza included. It helped pass the time on the flight. But it was also a very interesting thing to see the boys in game mode, and not always in Selected mode. She noticed Hans and Rance sitting next to each other. Thankfully, Hans didn't need lots of English to play UNO, but he seemed to speak better and better.

"When did you learn to speak English so well, Hans?" Eliza asked.

Hans shrugged shyly. "Rance has been help me."

" _Helping_ me," Rance corrected gently. "And he's getting really good, right?" he said, lightly nudging the German boy in the side.

Hans smiled and Eliza noticed the tip of his ears turning pink.

A couple of hours later, they landed in Lakedon, and they filed out of the plane, Millie and Kamran leading the group, followed by Eliza, and the five Selected.

They all climbed in the two black Mercedes waiting for them, and drove for thirty minutes to the new school. When they arrived, a whole group of children in grey and green uniforms was waiting outside, with parents and adults standing on the outside of the group.

The new school director, Mrs. Rosa Slytherine, welcomed the two royal sisters, with their escorts.

"Your Highness," she said to Millie. "We are so happy that you are here, and we couldn't have done this without you and your generosity."

Millie smiled graciously. "It was my pleasure," she replied. "Children have a very special place in my heart, and I really hope this school will help them thrive and secure their future."

"I'm sure it will," Mrs. Slytherine said. "Will you all please follow me to the entrance of the school?" She paused. "You and your sister will be cutting the ribbon so the children will be able to go to class."

"How wonderful!" Millie said. But Eliza could easily hear the note of irony in her voice. What was she doing here? This was Millie's thing. Not hers.

The sisters shared the pair of scissors and cut the red ribbon. The group of children, parents, and teachers clapped. At the sound of the bell, the children lined up two by two in groups of classes, and followed their teachers inside in a clean manner. Eliza was impressed by this discipline and how well the children behaved. Clearly, they were all excited to finally have a school to go to. They were mainly children from Castes Six and Seven, and even some Eights were there, too, according to the paperwork she had studied before coming.

While the children were in their classes with their teachers, The Royal Party met with the school board and talked about this and that.

Until Eliza asked about the budget. "So, I read Millie raised 100'000 dollars. What you've done with that is amazing!"

"100'000?" Mrs. Slytherine said, confused. "No, she only raised 75'000 dollars. But yes, we were able to do a lot! We opened five classes and were able to get donated furniture, and we have enough to pay the teachers for the next two years. After that, we'll have to see how we can make this school survive."

Linus, who was, of course, accompanying them, listened carefully. What Alaric said was true. Millie was taking money for herself in the donations she was raising. He kept his mouth shut, for now. If he could just prove this, Millie would be screwed, and he wondered if she could still be suited to be a bride of the Iranian Empire…

Millie tried not to say anything about the 25'000 dollars difference – in truth, she was wearing part of them at that moment, in her Louboutin shoes – but promised to continue raising money for their school, as she did for the others. She had contacts with lots of money, and she knew the right strings to pull.

They waited for recess to come around, where the children – and some teachers – would come to talk with Millie, Eliza, or one of the boys.

Rafe and Raph were more than happy to play tag with the kids, and Hans and Rance had taken the UNO game from the jet to play with some of the kids, too. Henryk was in an animated conversation with one of the teachers, and Eliza wondered what they were talking about.

Luckily, Eliza had taken her new yellow Polaroid Camera Jericho had given her for her birthday, and was taking selfies with the kids, giving them the pictures as a souvenir. They didn't have phones to take selfies with. So Henri had suggested it, and Eliza was glad she had taken up that suggestion.

The kids were ecstatic about going back home with a polaroid of them with the Princess! And it warmed Eliza's heart to see them so happy with so little. She was glad she had come along, after all.

Just before noon, the Royal Party left the school, Millie and Kamran in a car, and the rest in the second one. The couple went to have dinner at a private fancy restaurant, while Eliza and her five Selected went to eat Poutine in a local restaurant. Lots of people saw them, asked for autographs and pictures, and then they went back to the school to see the children come out of their new school after their first day.

Eliza and everyone else from Angeles stroke a pose with the School Board, then the teachers, and then with all the children. Journalists and photographs were there, covering the event for _Illéa Weekly_.

After that, both Millie and Eliza made a speech.

"… and it is with great joy that–"

 _BANG_!

Eliza was cut in the middle of her phrase and tackled to the ground by Linus and Raphael, both their military reflexes coming to the surface at the same time. Out of the bordering tree line, three white Robot Drones came out, bearing high-tech and futuristic looking guns.

Kids were screaming. The teachers were trying to pull the kids away from the chaos, and the Selected tried to help wherever they could.

Eliza was crushed under Raphael and Linus, and she could feel something warm and wet soak her clothes. But she couldn't feel any pain. She tried to breathe and not panic, and when she opened her eyes, she couldn't see anything, besides Linus' white collar, and some brown curly hair that didn't belong to him. She was crushed and could barely breathe. Around her, gun noises and people screaming could still be heard.

If felt like hours before the guns stopped and there was no more chaotic noise. Or it was maybe just minutes. She couldn't tell.

One of the people on top of her lifted his head and she noticed it was Raphael.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his nose an inch from hers. He was in the middle of the Linus-Eliza Sandwich.

She nodded, unable to speak with two heavy guys crushing her.

"Good," he said. He searched her eyes for pain, but couldn't see any. When he noticed Linus not moving off of him, he pushed himself up, groaning – he was in pain, that was for sure, he just didn't know where it came from – and Linus rolled to the side and fell heavily on the ground next to them. Raphael quickly tried to stand up, but he fell back on Eliza, hissing in pain.

"Oh, my God," Eliza said, panic alight in her eyes. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he hissed and rolled on the other side, not wanting to fall onto Linus. The trio on the ground was now surrounded by a group of policemen making a wall around them.

"No, you're not," Eliza said, sitting up and seeing his white shirt with dark red flowers growing by the second. "You're hurt! Raphael, don't move!"

"Eliza," he said, taking her wrist in his hand and pulling her close to his face. "I don't know how many bullets hit me. I can't feel my leg." He groaned a bit as he tried to move it, and Eliza hushed him. "Look, if I don't make it–"

"Don't say that," she cut him. "We're gonna take you to the hospital, and you're gonna be okay, okay?"

"Liz, listen to me," he said, searching her eyes. "I need to tell you this."

"No," Eliza said. "You'll tell me when you get out of the hospital. And that's final."

She tried to get away and look at the unmoving Linus on the other side, but Raphael wouldn't let go of her wrist. He pulled her down, close to his face.

He hissed at the effort. "If you won't let me speak, let me at least do this," he said. He pulled her down and kissed her, as if it was the last thing he did before he died. He tried to put every ounce of love he had for her in that kiss, and then he let go of her, the effort of holding her close too big for him. He was seeing spots in his vision, and he knew he was going to pass out. Would he wake up again? He didn't know. At least she knew how he felt.

His head fell hard on the ground, as unconsciousness took ahold of his body.

"Raph? Raphael!" Eliza said, taking him by the shoulders. "Wake up!"

"Excuse me, Your Highness," someone said above her.

Eliza looked up to see a medic crouching down. He looked for a pulse in Raphael's throat. It was weak and slow. He called someone on his walkie talkie and three more medics came and took him on a stretcher and put him in a waiting ambulance. Another medic looked Eliza over, but she was fine. Except for the shock. She was trembling from head to toe.

When she finally remembered Linus lying next to her. His shirt was soaked with blood, and there was a large dark puddle around him. No medic was taking care of him.

"Linus?" she tried calling him, but his name stuck in her throat. He couldn't be dead. He was her best friend. "No," she mumbled. "Don't leave me, Linus." She checked him all over, tried to find a pulse in his neck like the medic had done for Raphael but couldn't find any.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," an unfamiliar voice said. "He didn't make it."

"No. No! That's not true!"

"I'm sorry, Miss." The medic, a woman with a strict chignon at the base of her neck, offered a hand to Eliza. "Come with me, please. We need to take you somewhere safe."

"No," she said, tears springing to her eyes. "He can't be dead!"

The woman nodded. "I'm sorry."

"No!"

A male medic came over and helped Eliza on her feet and brought her to the back of an ambulance, wrapped her in a blanket and gave her some hot tea to drink.

Millie and Kamran came over, also wrapped in a blanket. "Are you okay?" Millie asked. And this time, there was no sarcasm in her voice.

But Eliza didn't register the question. She only stared in the distance, holding a shaky thermos of tea between her frozen hands. Her best friend was gone. Gone. Forever. And Raphael? She didn't even know if he would make it out alive of the hospital. And what about the others? what about Rafe? Henryk? Rance and Hans? Ignoring her sister and forgetting all about her and Kamran, she went in search of the others, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.

There were clusters of crying children held tightly together by teachers, parents, and medics. And the three Robots were lying on the ground in pieces. The Military of Lakedon had done a good job neutralizing the threat, even if it was a bit late.

After asking around, none of the children had been hurt. Apparently, they hadn't been the target. She found Hans and Rance sitting together at the back of another ambulance, huddled together under the same blanket, their hands weaved together. In her state of shock, Eliza didn't even notice it.

"Oh thank God you're okay," she said. "Have you seen Rafe and Henryk?"

Rance nodded. "We saw them leave in the same ambulance as Raphael." He paused. "Are you okay, Eliza?"

She nodded absently, before shaking her head and starting to sob uncontrollably. "No," she managed to say. "Linus is dead."

Rance let go of Hans and quickly embraced her in a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry," he said soothingly. "I know you two were close."

She didn't deny or agree with the statement, she just cried on his shoulder. After some time, the sobs subsided and she let go of Rance.

"Thanks," she said softly. She stayed with them for a couple more minutes, until the Police Commander walked up to them and asked to talk to her alone. She followed the commander a few paces away.

"Your Highness," he started. "Three of your Selected have been sent to the hospital and will be transferred to Angeles as soon as they are stabilized. Some of my men will drive you back to the airport with the remaining Selected and Princess Emilia and her fiancé. You'll go directly to Angeles, where you'll be safe, and where we'll be able to communicate with you about what happened here. When you feel better." He paused, making sure she was following.

Eliza nodded. "Okay," was all she could say. The two Princesses, Kamran, Hans, and Rance were escorted to the airport and into their jet, and they flew back to Angeles, where a large group of military men was waiting for them to escort them back to the Palace.

 **-x-x-x-**

The moment she stepped out of the car on the gravel in front of the Palace, Andromeda started to walk down the stone steps. Eliza met her half-way up and she hugged her grandmother.

"Oh, my darling girl," the old woman said, holding her granddaughter close to her. "I'm so sorry."

Eliza didn't say anything, she just hung on tightly. A couple of minutes later, King and Queen, followed by the remaining Selected, came out to greet the Princesses, and the two Selected. There was still no news of Raphael, Rafe, or Henryk, still in the Lakedon Hospital.

She walked up the remaining stairs with her grandmother, quickly hugged her parents, nodded to the other selected, and went to her room to change. And take a shower. And cry. A little. A lot.

But instead of doing that, she just sat on her bed and stared at nothing in particular. She didn't even notice Mistress Pebbles lightly jumping on her bed. She only noticed when the gray cat rubbed her back on her.

"Oh, hi, Pebbles," Eliza said, taking the cat in her arms and hugging her close. She was becoming fatter and fatter, and would soon have her kittens. But for now, she was glad to have a friend to hug, and let her tears smear in her grey fur. Pebbles purred against the Princess, and they both started at a knock on the door.

It was Samantha coming in with a fresh outfit and ready to help the Princess in getting ready. Eliza went into the shower and let the water stream over her, not even noticing it.

"Miss, is everything okay?" Samantha said through the door, after some time.

"Yes," Eliza replied. "Coming." She dried herself and came out with a towel around her body, and one holding her hair up.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, miss," Samantha said, brushing the Princess's wet hair, "but you're expected in the Report room with your family for a statement. In twenty minutes."

Eliza nodded. Once her hair was done – a low fancy bun with a small accessory – she pulled on a black short-sleeved dress with a pair of black pumps. She headed to the Report room, and almost bumped into Tom, Alek, and Caspian, just around a corner. They were all dressed in black suits, and pretty pale.

"Hi," she said, keeping a straight face.

"Hey," Tom replied, trying to make her smile. It didn't work. The four of them walked in silence to their destination, with grim faces.

It wasn't Friday, so it was going to be filmed, and then broadcasted the next day, as a _Special_ _Announcement_ to the whole country, included in the Daily News. The stage was set differently than usual, with no chairs but one. The ten remaining Selected – minus the three in the Hospital – were placed in two rows of five on the side, but still on screen; King Oliver and Queen Elinor stood in the center, with Eliza and Millie on either side. Kamran asked not to be involved in this statement, and sat in the empty Audience. Andromeda was the only one sitting on the chair, mirroring the Selected, on the other side of the stage.

They could do it again ten times, if needed, since it wasn't broadcasted live. But everyone wanted to get this done quickly.

When the stage director called "Action!", it took Oliver a few seconds to start. He was still under the shock of what had happened to his daughters, the Selected, and the children in that school.

"Yesterday, an attack occurred on the latest school Princess Emilia opened," he started, "putting in danger not only the children and teachers there, but also my two daughters who were there with some of the Selected to start the new school year." He paused, looking at his cards. The break could be edited later on. "None of the children were injured, neither were the teachers." Again, a pause. "But three of Princess Elisabeth's Selected were injured and are still in the Hospital. A royal guard was killed in the chaos, shielding Eliza from the bullets. He died an honorable death, serving his country. He will be remembered"

Eliza balled her fists in her pockets, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking after the mention of Linus' death.

"You have already seen these Robot Drone in New Asia on TV," Oliver continued. "But they were here in Illéa. Our specialists will find out who was behind this attack, New Asia or France." He paused. "Until then, products from both countries will be on the blacklist."

He said some more things, but Eliza zoned off. All she could think about was the robots, the guns, the chaos, and Linus' dead body lying on the ground. He had died saving her. And she couldn't forget Raphael, Rafe, and Henryk still in the hospital. There was still no word about them. She closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer for them.

"Eliza?" a familiar voice said. "It's over, come on."

Eliza looked up to see her sister guiding her away. Everyone was heading to dinner, and they would all have to sit together. For this special occasion, there was only one large table, royals and Selected mixed together. Eliza was seated in between her grandmother, and Nikolai. But she didn't eat anything, only pushed her food around her plate, pretending to eat. Her stomach was in knots, and nothing would go past her throat, anyway.

After the short dinner, she headed back to her room, stripped her dress, and slipped under the covers, hugging a pillow against her. She fell asleep with her pillow wet from crying.

* * *

 _ **Hiii! long time no see, I know... But the writing flow seems to be coming back! I swear I couldn't write more than 50 words before stopping. but yesterday I wrote 2k, and I just finished the chapter today, so yay!**_

 _ **Don't forget to go check the Aesthetic board for this chapter** (beware, there are blood and wounds...) **...**_

 _ **But yeah, Linus is dead...** (but I'm sure most of you figured that out a long time ago that he would die, especially those on Discord^^)_

 _ **see you soon!** (faster than last time, I hope!)_


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

 ** _Prince Caspian Philippe de Sauveterre of New France, Room 204, Illéa Palace._**

It was the middle of night, and Caspian was laying on his bed, unable to move or sleep, staring at the ceiling. If only he had Cocotte to hold against his chest like he did back home. It always helped when he was anxious. But now it was more than being just anxious. His Robots had attacked the Princesses, for Christ sake! Well, technically, they weren't his… only his design. The only thing he found to hold close to him was one of the numerous pillows on his bed. He always wondered why there were so many pillows when you just needed one to sleep. But now he was happy to have several from which to choose from to cuddle with.

" _Je vais trop me faire tuer par mon père_ ," he mumbled. _"Surtout s'il apprend que c'est moi qui les ai créés et si je me fais éliminer_ …" he trailed off. There was no way he wanted to be eliminated just now. He had a good feeling with the Princess. Well, as good as it could be, especially with Tom and Raphael still in the competition.

Speaking of Raphael, there was still no news of him, or Rafe or Henryk. But from what Hans and Rance said, they were in a pretty bad condition when they last saw them. How it must have been awful. He was a bit jealous not to have been chosen for the week's outing, but now, he was grateful to be safe. For now. Until he went back to New France and either his father or the King, his brother, would exile him for treason against New France _and_ Illéa. But he had nothing to do with it!

He punched one of his pillows and decided he needed some air. His room was stuffy and hot, even though it was already September.

"Right," he said to himself. "September in Angeles is still summer. Angeles is Summer all year long, practically." He sighed, pulled on a pair of pants, a t-shirt, and some sneakers, and tiptoed out of his room.

"Excuse me, Your Highness," a voice said behind him in the dark. "But you're not supposed to get out of your room. It's the middle of the night."

"I know that," he replied to the guard. "But I just need some air. On the terrace," he said. "You can come along if you need," he added, not waiting for an answer. He continued to the first floor and headed to the terrace, the one that faced the swimming pool.

Only, someone was already there. Reading a book with a flashlight.

"That's sure to attract mosquitoes," Caspian said. He couldn't see who the reader was, though, blinded by the light as he was.

"Aye, I know," Cian replied with his thick Irish accent. "I don't care."

Caspian chuckled and sat next to him on the marble ledge. "What are you reading?"

"What are ye doin' here?" Cian replied instead.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I, so here I am." Cian paused in his reading, closing the book and reading the title out loud. " _Physics, Ethics, Poetics, metaphysics, Categories, On Logic, On the Soul_ , by Aristotle."

"Hm," Caspian snorted. "You must really want to sleep."

"Ye have no idea," Cian said. "Ever since wha' happened the other day–"

"I know," Caspian cut him. He didn't need any reminder.

"Right, sorry."

Silence surrounded them, and only the noises of the night filled the stillness. Cian had turned off his flashlight, and now their eyes became accustomed to the dark.

"Ye really designed those things?" Cian asked.

"Yeah," Caspian replied, sighing. "I wish I hadn't, though." He paused. "I don't even know who stole the plans. There were in a safe."

"Who has the key? Or the code?" Cian asked, trying to help. If they could figure out who had found the plans and sold them out, maybe they could prove Caspian was innocent. Because for now, he was on the front page of most magazines and newspapers all around the world.

"That's the thing. No one." Caspian paused, thinking.

"But who do ye suspect?" Cian asked, making himself more comfortable on the marble ledge. He stole a glance at the two guards waiting by the door. One of them yawned and Cian chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing, sorry," he said. "So?"

"I don't know. It could be one of the engineers working with me. Or even my brother–"

"The King?" Cian asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No. Gaspard would never do that. But Antoine yes." He sighed. "But since he never comes to my place, how could he– _Merde_ ," Caspian muttered under his breath. "One of the engineers could be working for Antoine!"

"There, ye have it," Cian said, yawning, too. "Which one?"

"It could be anyone," Caspian replied, getting agitated.

"Have you gotten any news from New France? Like did the King contact you?"

"Several times," Caspian said. "But I never answered the phone. I'm afraid he might send someone to talk to me. But I have no idea what the hell happened, and how it happened!" he said, his voice echoing in the night.

"Shh!" Cian said. "Ye'll gonna wake up the whole Palace, man."

Caspian took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"Besides. King Oliver said New France was on the blacklist. I doubt anyone from New France could set foot in Illéa."

"I'm here," Caspian said, his shoulders slumping.

"You were _already_ here," Cian said. "Unless they ship you back in a box, though," he added chuckling.

"Not funny."

"Sorry."

They were silent after that, and Caspian, too, started to yawn.

"Maybe we should go back inside," he suggested.

"Aye," Cian said. "Look, if ye need help with anything, let me know, aye?"

 **-x-x-x-**

 ** _Princess Elisabeth Regina Odelle Schreave, Angeles cemetery._**

" _Died in the line of duty_ " was all it said, under Linus' name, on the tombstone. Even after everyone – it had been a small and private ceremony – had gone back inside for refreshments, Eliza had stayed behind, standing in front of the hole, the white rose still in her hands. If she threw it in, it would be over. She couldn't do that, yet.

"I'm so sorry, Linus," she said softly to the wooden casket. "I swear to you I'll always remember you." She paused, quickly wiping a single tear that was running down her cheek. "You were my first love, and if it wasn't for this stupid Selection, I would have chosen you." The words flew on the light summer breeze, and the silence wrapped itself around her.

She stood there a long time, not wanting to put the last rose on the casket. Her feet were killing her, to stand there, unmoving, but she couldn't move. If she left, that would mean leaving Linus alone forever.

"You can always come back, here, you know?" someone softly said behind her.

Eliza recognized the voice and accent to be Tomlin's, but she didn't reply. What was he doing here? She wanted to be alone, not make small talk with one of the Selected.

She shrugged and replied something nonetheless. "It would be awkward for me to come to mourn my bodyguard."

"True," Tomlin said. "But he was your best friend. If not more," he added reluctantly. "You have every right to be sad."

Eliza turned her head to look at him. He was wearing a black suit – they all were – and had his fists in his pockets. When he realized she wouldn't say anything else, he slowly walked away to give her some space and time alone.

When she was sure he was gone, she let out a small breath of relief. She closed her eyes and balled her fists around the thorn-less rose stem. "I love you," she whispered only for Linus to hear. That said, she dropped the rose on the casket and walked away without a backward glance over her shoulder. She went back inside but headed directly to the toilette, where she could have a look at herself in the mirror and fix up her makeup and hair. When she was ready again, she went out, head high.

A servant offered her a glass of champagne and she gladly took it. She sipped once, but then the bubbles seemed to be like sand and she put the glass down on a table. It was a very small group of people coming to honor Linus. Mostly Palace guards, some Selected, and the royal family. But it felt like she was alone. People were talking in hushed tones, and already they were preparing to leave.

In the car, she traveled with Henri because she didn't want to talk to anyone. She would soon have a new bodyguard, but her father still had some interviews to do for that.

"Uhm, Your Highness?" Henri said, pulling Eliza out of her thoughts. "You might want to read this." He handed her his tablet, where an e-mail was waiting to be read.

 _Mr. Johnson,_

 _The Lakedon Hospital will be returning two of the Selected alive and stabilized. However, the third young man succumbed to his injuries and we were unable to save him. We are terribly sorry. We will return his body to your care, as well._

 _See the attached documents._

 _Dr. Miller,_

 _Director of Lakedon Hospital_

One of the three Selected had died. Raphael? Rafe? Or Henryk? To know the answer, Eliza would need to click on the attached documents. But she couldn't. She handed the tablet back to Henri, her hand trembling.

Henri noticed she hadn't opened the attachments. But when he looked at her, she was staring outside, unseeing.

"Just tell me who died," she said flatly, trying to stay calm. She knew that if it was Raphael or Rafe, she would die from grief, herself. If it was Henryk, she would be extremely sad, but since she didn't have the same kind of feelings for him, it would be easier. Maybe.

It felt like hours before Henri opened the attachments. He read the hospital reports. Over his tablet, he saw Eliza's knee going up and down real fast. He needed to end the waiting now.

"Raphael and Henryk are coming home," he started. "But–"

"Rafe is dead," she finished the sentence for him. She shut her eyes tight and balled her fists, making small nail marks on her palms, but she ignored the pain. Or rather, she needed the pain to keep her sane right now.

"No," she said. "No, it can't be."

"I'm sorry, Eliza," Henri said. "I'm really sorry." He put his hand on her balled fists and squeezed lightly. The rest of the drive was silent. When the car stopped in front of the stone stairs, Eliza didn't move. Only when Henri opened the door for her did she realize they were home already.

"Can you gather the boys in the Men's Parlor?" she asked him. Henri nodded and rounded up the boys when they arrived. She entered a couple of minutes later but stayed near the door. "We, uhm, received news from Lakedon," she started, wringing her hands together. "Raphael and Henryk will be joining us soon."

"What about Rafe?" Latreall asked.

Eliza took a shaky breath, and Nikolai understood. "He's dead," he simply said, in a cold voice. He knew what it was to lose someone. He had lost his brother to an attack, too.

Eliza nodded, unable to do anything else. "I need to tell his family," she mumbled and walked away.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

She headed to her father's office to make the call and his personal secretary announced her to the King. He came out a minute later. "You may go in, Your Royal Highness," he said.

She nodded her thanks and stepped inside. The King and three other people stood as she entered. They looked familiar, but in her state of mind, she couldn't place them right away.

"Elisabeth, this is General Shulz," Oliver said, motioning to the first man on his right. "Raphael's father."

Eliza could see the resemblance to his son. They had the same hazel eyes. "Good day, General," she said, self-composed as best she could.

"Sir Jan Radziwiłł, Minister of National Defense in Poland, and father of Henryk," Oliver continued the introductions.

"Sir," Eliza said nodded to the man. Funny how he didn't look so much like his son.

"And this is Maître Marshall, the South African Nation King's lawyer, and emissary," Oliver concluded.

"Sir," Eliza said again. Why on earth would the S.A.N. send an impersonal lawyer, while the others sent a parent?

Oliver invited everyone to sit, and a chair was brought for Eliza, too.

"As I was saying," the Illéan King resumed, "we don't have news yet of either one of the three young men and–"

"There is news," Eliza said. She felt as though she was out of her body, watching from afar. It was time to tell everyone the truth. She took out Henri's tablet she was carrying and handed the e-mail to her father.

He frowned when reading it. At least _he_ was going to drop the bomb, not her.

"And who?" he asked her.

She took the tablet back, opened the attached documents and handed it back to her father. "Read that," she said.

Oliver became a bit pale.

"Raphael and Henryk will be coming home soon," he said at last. "Rafe too, but, he succumbed to his wounds. I'm sorry."

The General and the Minister of National Defense sighed, relieved. Their sons were safe.

The lawyer didn't bat an eye, though. "I'll let their Majesties know," he simply said.

"Wait, that's all?" Eliza said. " _You'll let their Majesties know_?" she scoffed. "Why are you here and not a family member?"

"Your Highness, Rafe's mother died a long time ago, and he was a bastard. Didn't you know that? And the Queen will be happy to hear that her stepson passed."

"You've got to be kidding me," Eliza said. "A Prince just died, and nobody cares?"

"Well, technically," the Lawyer said, "he's only a half-blood."

If looks could kill, Mr. Marshall would have been dead on the spot.

"Look, Your Highness," he said. "I'm just the lawyer. But I also have a message for you, and your government." He paused for effect. "King Armand Frederich Monteverde, Rafe's father, will send a private detective with his own team to help find out who was behind the attack."

At this, Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"Yes," Mr. Marshall said, looking at the Illéan King. "Your Majesty," he added.

"This is actually a very good idea," the Swiss General said with a German accent. "I will have my best men on the investigation too."

It took some time for the Polish man to add his help, too, but he did. "Me too."

"Very good news, indeed," Oliver said. "Together, we will find who did this and bring justice to Rafe, and the others."

Eliza was boiling inside. She still couldn't believe what the lawyer said about Rafe's stepmother. There were other matters to discuss, but Eliza barely heard. All she knew was that the three foreign visitors would be staying at the Palace, for now, waiting for their sons to come back.

And they did, in the late afternoon. The private royal jet had been sent to Lakedon to bring back the young men to Angeles, alive and dead, and they were now arriving at the Palace. The whole remaining group of Selected, led by Eliza, was waiting at the top of the stairs.

Valets helped the two boys come out of the car. They could walk but Raphael seemed a bit stiff in his movements. Henryk had crutches and they made their way up the stairs. Eliza couldn't stand it any longer and met them halfway down. It was everyone's cue and they all followed her.

"Woah, woah, woah, careful," Raphael said before anyone could touch him. "Broken ribs and bullet wounds."

"Oh my God," Eliza said, her eyes wide.

"But I'm good, now, don't worry." He smiled at her and the look he gave her sent butterflies flying in her belly.

"That's it, we're done," Tomlin mumbled. "We can't compete against survivors."

Sebastian snorted. "Especially with Swisster Mister."

Eliza heard the comments but ignored them. She turned to Henryk. "I'm so glad to see you're okay. Do you need help?"

"Nah, I'm fine," he said. "But I hope the elevator still works," he smirked.

Eliza chuckled. "Yes, it still works."

Once everyone was up the stairs, they walked inside, where King, Queen, Swiss Army General, and Polish Minister of Defense were waiting.

"Dad?" both Raphael and Henryk said at the same time, seeing their parents.

"Raphael!" The General said. " _Ich freue mich, dich zu sehen! Du hast mich so erschreckt!"_ He embraced his son, who winced and hissed in pain as his ribs were crushed under his father's hug.

"Ow!" Raphael said.

"Oh, _tut mir Leid_ ," General Shulz said, taking a step back. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Raphael said between his clenched teeth. "I'm fine." He held his midsection before anyone else could touch him.

" _Ojciec_ , what are you doing here?" Henryk asked his father.

" _Chciałem się upewnić, że wszystko w porządku_ ," he replied. "I was worried, son.

"That would be a first," Henryk mumbled.

" _Co_?" the Minister of Defense asked, looking suspiciously at his son.

"Nothing," Henryk replied. "I'm glad you're here. But I'm fine, now."

Sir Radziwiłł nodded but stayed some distance from his son. With his crutches, he needed his space to move around.

The rest of the selected headed back to the gardens, where they talked in earnest about what had happened. Henryk, Raphael, and Eliza stayed behind to talk with their parents about the next step. When the two boys learned that the South African Nation, Switzerland, and Poland had offered their help in the investigation, Raphael suggested that his father didn't send military men, but rather computer engineers who could work on the robots. There were enough military people in Illéa.

" _Gute Idee_ , Raphael," General Shulz said. "I'll have out best computer engineers from the EPFL and EPFZ come here to help."

Raphael nodded.

They talked some more about the new project, and after an hour, all three foreigners were on the phone, calling their governments and asking for the people to be sent. It was decided that the new people arriving would be staying at the Angeles Royal Hotel, all expenses paid by Illéa.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

When the meeting was over, Eliza excused herself and headed outside. She needed to be alone for a while. So many things had changed in her life in the past few days, and she needed to take a moment to digest everything.

First, her grandmother was sick, and dying slowly. She just hoped she would live long enough to see her wedding, and maybe to meet her first grandchild.

Second, her best friend died saving her. As much as it had annoyed her to have him follow her every move for her security, she would miss him doing that, now. And she had admitted that Linus had been the first young man she had truly loved. Now he was gone.

Third, Rafe had died, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, simply because he was her friend. And she was just starting to like him more…

And forth… Well, at least the two others were safe, now, if injured. And she had to continue this bloody Selection (no pun intended) and find 'the One' in the midst of princes and nobles from around the world, on the brink of the next world war. How the hell was she supposed to do that?

A now familiar _tip-tip-tip_ noise sounded behind her on the gravel, and she smiled. The cane her grandmother was now using announced her arrival.

"How are you, dearie?" Andromeda asked, putting a thin and frail hand on her granddaughter's arm.

Eliza shrugged. "As good as can be, I guess," she replied. "I just wish we could go back in time and change everything."

"I know the feeling," Andromeda said. "Unfortunately, it is not possible, and we must live with the aftermath of life."

Eliza chuckled and shook her head. "What am I going to do, grandmother? How am I supposed to finish this stupid Selection, without my best friend to watch over me?" The redhaired young woman searched the Queen Mother's eyes.

Andromeda swallowed and sat on the bench a few meters away. Eliza followed her. "Continue living, enjoying moments with people who are still here with you," she started. "And know that the people around you will watch over you." She paused. "Remember this: Linus will be watching over you from wherever he is now."

Eliza nodded slowly, looking at her hands in her lap. "Thanks," she whispered. Although she wasn't sure if she was thanking Andromeda or Linus. Maybe both.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Andromeda said after giving some time to her granddaughter to compose herself.

Eliza's bottle green eyes lit up and a smirk appeared on her lips. "Do tell," she said.

"I think the Swiss lieutenant likes you."

Eliza snorted. "That's not a secret, I know that." Then she remembered he had wanted to tell her something before he passed out and she said he would have to tell her when he came back from the hospital. "Please excuse me, grandmother," Eliza said, standing up. "There's something I have to do."

Andromeda chuckled and coughed blood in her handkerchief. "Of course, dearie."

Eliza stormed off to find Raphael. But did she really want to hear him say what he had meant to say? Only one way to find out…

* * *

 _ **Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was kinda sad...**_

 _ **unfortunately, Rafe is not among us anymore – Rest his soul – and he will be missed... Thanks to**_ nyx6x6x6 _ **for creating this amazing character!**_

 _ **Don't forget to go check the chapter Aesthetic on the Pinterest Board, and I can't wait to read your reviews ;)**_

 _ **see you soon!** (thanks to Camp nano for helping me write, but I'll be gone from 7-17 July, cooking in a summer camp for kids^^ So I doubt I'll have time to write)_

* * *

Translation from the French, German, and Polish bits of dialogue: _(German and Polish taken from google translation, so, sorry if it's not 100% correct...)_

 **French:**

 _\- Je vais trop me faire tuer par mon père_. _Surtout s'il apprend que c'est moi qui les ai créés et si je me fais éliminer_ …" = My father's going to kill me. Especially if he knows I'm the one who designed them, and if I'm eliminated.

 _\- Merde_! = Shit!

— — —

 **German** :

 _\- Ich freue mich, dich zu sehen! Du hast mich so erschreckt!_ = I'm happy to see you! You scared me so much!

 _\- tut mir Leid_ = Sorry

 _\- Gute Idee_ = Good idea

— — —

 **Polish** :

 _\- Ojciec_ = father

 _\- Chciałem się upewnić, że wszystko w porządku_ = I wanted to make sure you were okay.

 _\- Co?_ = what?

 _— — —_

 _EPFL and EPFZ_ = Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne and Zurich, where the best engineers and researchers are made. Students from all over the world come here to study.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

On the Report, everyone was dressed in black for mourning, announcing to the whole country Rafe's passing. Everyone was respectful enough to behave during the whole ordeal, and to follow the script. Nothing went awry. Even Millie was impeccable. She did play with the bracelet she was wearing, though, not really listening to what was happening. She had never worn it because she knew it was a joke or something, but for some reason, she had decided to wear Rafe's friendship bracelet to honor him. At least just for the evening.

After the Report, they all headed to the dining room for dinner, and besides small talk and playing around with their food, everyone wanted this to be done, soon.

Between dishes, Sebastian discreetly checked his phone for social media updates and found something quite peculiar. This was new.

"Hey, check this out," he said to Alek, handing over his phone under the table.

"What the hell," Alek muttered. "When did this come up?"

"I don't know," Seb replied.

On walls all around Los Angeles and in other big cities over Illéa, the hashtag in hideous red graffiti said _#QueenMillie_. Pictures of those words were being tweeted and retweeted, using the hashtag.

"This is bad," Seb said.

"What is it?" Jericho asked from across the table.

Seb handed him the phone, and Nikolai looked, too, since he was sitting next to him.

"Oh," Nikolai said and frowned. "Why is this coming up now? The Selection has been going on for weeks. Months, even."

"Good question," Latreall said. "Do you think it has anything to do with… you know… the attack?" he finished in a low voice, making sure the royals at the head table hadn't heard him.

"Who knows," Alek said.

"Give me my phone back," Sebastian said. He made a quick research on the hashtag. "It seemed to have popped up on Monday, on the day of the attack." He paused scrolling through the pictures and tweets. "But nothing says the two are related, though."

"Hmph," Nikolai said, just like when he snorted elegantly. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were."

When the valets came with the dessert, Sebastian quickly put his phone back in his pocket and they ate their dessert.

"Raphael did say the four countries would team up and try to find the attackers," Caspian said. "Maybe they'll find out if the two things are related or not."

"Yeah," Sebastian replied to Caspian. "You'd better pray the two are related because if not and _your_ robots have done this, you're screwed."

"Shut up, man," Cian said. "Cas has nothing to do with this. His plans were stolen."

"Yeah, right," Sebastian said. "Keep them under lock, next time." He snorted.

"Not cool, Seb," Jericho said. "Maybe we should just talk of something else."

"Why? You run from your problems?" Seb asked, the tone of the conversation going up fast. "You should be ashamed."

"Everyone be quiet!" Raphael hissed. He was the only one who noticed the King and Queen looking at them and trying to follow the conversation. "Just shut up, okay?" he said. "What is wrong with you guys?"

"I guess they're just frustrated," Tomlin said not too loudly. "Or trying to find something to distract themselves with." He eyed Raphael. "And honestly, I understand them. There is no more competition in this Selection. It's either you – you took a bullet for her, bloody hell – or someone for political reasons, chosen by Oli himself."

Some of the boys around Tomlin chuckled at the nickname.

"Shut up," Raphael said.

Tomlin snorted.

"Cut it out, you two," Rance admonished. "Just do your cat fight some other place. At least wait for dinner to be over."

Silence fell over the boys' table and they waited patiently for dinner to end. When _finally_ , King Oliver and Queen Elinor stood and retired for the evening, the boys practically all sprang to their feet and headed to the second floor. They all headed to different rooms.

Eliza, Millie, and Kamran were the only ones left in the dining room, but the couple headed out first, for their evening stroll in the garden. Against all odds, these two were slowly falling in love. And ever since the attack, Millie was a bit changed. Maybe it had shaken her a bit.

So, Eliza was left alone. She didn't mind. It was nice to be surrounded by silence for some time, while the servants cleared away the dishes and cleaned the dining room. It was almost an hour before she moved again and decided to go to bed. She didn't even call Samantha to help her undress, and then she slipped under the covers. She wondered what this weekend would be like. Rafe was the only sunshine in this world of politics. How would she survive without him? How would they all?

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

 ** _Earl Tomlin Huxley Calvert, Second Floor, Illéa Palace, Illéa._**

Tomlin waited for everyone to be gone in their own rooms, or in groups, and then he made his way down the hall and stopped in front of room 211. Rafe's room. He hovered in front of the door, hesitating. After a few seconds, his hand met the handle and he opened the door. He turned the light on and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He stood in the middle of the room, looking around. Nothing had been touched since Rafe left for the school opening. His dirty clothes were in a pile on a chair, having refused that the servants tidy his room all the time. And no one had come here, since.

Tom heard some noise coming from his left and he followed it, finding Draco in his cage, his water and plate empty.

"Oh, no," Tomlin said, sitting on the floor next to the small white pet. "You're all alone and hungry!" He looked around for the food and found it under the bed. He filled the small plate with the kibble and filled the bottle with water from the bathroom sink. When he came back to the cage, he let the poor ferret eat and drink his fill before opening the cage and taking it on his lap. The animal seemed to be aware that the human was not Rafe, and so he went looking around the room, making small noises. When he figured Rafe was not here, he climbed on Tom's lap again and made little squirming noises that sounded like questions.

"He's not coming back, bro," Tom said to the animal. "I'm sorry." The words caught in his throat. He had known that for a few hours, now. But it only dawned on him now how true and irreversible the fact was. Rafe was gone. He hadn't been very close to the guy, but he felt so little and frail in the universe. Anything could kill you at any given time. "I'm sorry," he said again to Draco who curled itself in his lap, both comforting each other.

He didn't even feel the tears stream down his cheeks. He was so angry and frustrated at everyone and everything, but he tried to pet Draco with a calm hand nonetheless. At some point, he thought the animal had fallen asleep, but when the door opened, the ferret popped its head up, looking where the noise had come from.

"Oh," Raphael said, coming in. "I didn't know someone was already in here," he said. He stood in the door frame. "Mind if I come in?" he asked awkwardly.

Tomlin shrugged and nodded, quickly drying his cheeks, and Raphael came in after closing the door. He sat stiffly next to the English Earl on the floor against the bed, holding his ribs and hissing as he sat on the plush carpet.

"Who's gonna take care of Draco?" Raphael asked.

"I don't know," Tomlin replied. "One of us, I guess." He paused. "Unless Eliza wants to keep him."

Raphael snorted. "She already has a cat who will soon burst with kittens."

"Right." Tomlin sighed, continuing to pet Draco who had lost interest in Raphael once he saw it wasn't Rafe. But then again, Rafe-Raph… Nah.

The two rivals were silent, processing the whole thing. None wanted to start a conversation. It was already awkward enough to be there together.

After some time, though, Tomlin spoke up.

"Hey, uhm, what you did… taking a bullet for her and all–"

"More like two or three," Raphael said, cutting Tom.

"Damnit Raph," Tom said. "Let me just say this." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Look. Taking _two or three_ bullets for her was noble AF." He paused. "I don't know if I would have had the guts to do it, you know?"

Raphael nodded but didn't say anything.

"Can we, uhm, put the past behind us and just… kinda be friends?" Tom asked, not looking at Raphael. "And let the best man win?"

Raphael snorted, hut hissed at the pain that lashed out in his side. "I don't know," he replied. "I really love her…" he trailed off. "And I'm going to do everything it takes to win her over."

"Yeah, well, so will I," Tomlin said, determined.

Both eyed each other, and you could almost feel the duel coming up. Like cowboys in the Far West in the middle of the street, holding firearms at dawn. _This town is too small for the both of us_ …

Just then, the door opened, breaking the tension between them. It was JeriNiko walking in.

"Oh," Jericho said. "We didn't know there would be people in here. Mind if we join?"

Tom and Raph nodded, and JeriNiko sat on the floor near the two others. Everyone called them Jeriniko, now, since they were an entity, now, and no one seemed bothered by that…

"So, what were you two talking about?" Jericho asked.

"Figuring out who would keep Draco," Raphael half-lied.

"Not me," Nikolai quickly said. "Did you ask Eliza?"

"I don't think she'd take Draco in," Tom said. "Maybe I'll take him."

The four boys went silent after that for a moment. Four other Selected – Aleksander, Sebastian, Latreall, and Henryk – came in, surprised to already see a group of guys there, bringing in beer, wine, and glasses to drink. Sebastian filled in glasses and passed them around until everyone had something to drink.

"Wait," Aleksander said. "Let me just call the others." He looked for the contacts on his phone and called the remaining Selected who came in a few minutes later. Cian, Caspian, Hans, and Rance closed the circle and they were also given beer or wine.

Sebastian lifted his glass. "To Rafe," he said. "He was the only happy sunshine in this sad world of politics."

"To Rafe," the others echoed, lifting their glass as well, and then all drank a sip or two.

"Oh, hey," Latreall said. "Remember when he tripped the glasses of lemonade on Millie?"

Chuckles rumbled around the room as they remembered that event.

"That was when the _Illéa Weekly_ magazine was here, right?" Latreall asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Jericho replied. "Didn't he also give her a friendship bracelet or something, to say he was sorry?"

"That would be something he'd do," Seb said. "Totally."

"And that time he bomb-dived in the pool, splashing everyone around, especially the two sisters?" Alek said, with a bittersweet feeling in his stomach.

"Rafe may not have been everyone's favorite, but he really was the clown of the party," Caspian said. "I wish I could have known him better."

"Yeah, same," Cian said.

"I know this is going to be cliché," Latreall said, "But he died too soon."

"Everyone who dies dies too soon," Nikolai added, looking at the bottom of his glass. "That's when you realize you never had enough time with them. And now that they're gone, you'll never catch up. That time is lost."

Silent met his statement. But he was right. One after the other, they finished their glass of wine or their bottle of beer, remembering things Rafe had done or said in the past couple month they had known him.

Rance stood and went to Rafe's desk, rummaging through his stuff.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Raphael asked. "You can't touch his things."

"I'm just looking for pictures of him. He loved to takes pictures of everything."

Hans stood and joined Rance in his search. They found some Polaroid pictures he and Eliza had taken together. And some other selfies he had printed and just put on his desk. There were also group pictures with the other guys and Hans and Rance brought the pictures in the middle of their circle.

"Hey, that was when we played Mario Kart," Latreall said, taking a picture in his hands.

"Oh yeah, I remember that night," Seb said. "Eliza even played with us."

The boys laughed. "Eliza played video games?" one said. "You've got to be kidding."

"No," Seb replied. "And she was pretty good at it."

"Beginner's luck, if you ask me," Caspian said, joking a little.

Everyone chuckled lightly and they continued talking about Rafe, and how they missed him. One by one, or sometimes by two, the boys left the room and left something outside Rafe's door. A picture, an object that belonged to Rafe, or anything. Almost everyone was gone.

Everyone but Tomlin. He had been the first in the room, he would be the last to go. He stayed on the floor, still in the same spot with Draco now sleeping in its cage, and he thought about how he could up his game with Eliza. He hadn't taken a bullet for her, but he would do anything. He took his phone and looked at the _#QueenMillie_ tweets and articles all over the internet, and decided on a course of action. It was one in the morning but he didn't care. He had work to do. He took Draco's cage and went to his own room.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Tomlin spent the rest of the night working on his project. He cut, and folded, and glued, and made sure everything was ready. At around five in the morning, he was done. He hid the stencil under his bed and went to sleep for a couple of hours. He would have to find some allies to do his idea with him, but he didn't think it would be a problem.

Between breakfast and whatever activities the guys would be doing – probably soccer, swimming pool, or other – he asked three others to meet him in his room.

Sebastian, Latreall, and Caspian were exactly on time.

"Okay, so this is my idea," Tomlin said, taking the stencil from under his bed. "I made this last night, and I thought we could go over the _#QueenMillie_ tags in Los Angeles."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "How do you know where they are?"

"When?" Latreall asked at the same time.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Caspian asked.

"Okay," Tomlin said, looking at his three acolytes. "So, we do this tonight, once everyone's retired. Yes, I know where most of the graffiti is, since they were hashtagged with _#LosAngeles_ , and I found the streets, and I made an ideal route plan. And yes, I think it's a good idea. At least it will show Eliza that she still has people supporting her, and maybe others will do the same afterward."

The three others stared at him for a few seconds in silence.

"I'm in," Sebastian said.

"Me too," Latreall said.

"Uhm, I'm not sure," Caspian added. "With the robots and all, I don't think this is going to be really good on me."

"Man," Tomlin said, putting a hand on Caspian's shoulder. "You want to show Eliza that you're behind her and you support her?"

"Yeah."

"Then come with us. We won't get caught, I promise." Tomlin smiled encouragingly, but Caspian still felt hesitant. He couldn't be caught in a new bad idea. Imagine the headlines, though: ' ** _Three Princes from the Selection painting graffiti in Los Angeles.'_**

"You know what?" Caspian said. "Screw this. I'm in."

"Excellent," Tomlin said. "Meet me at two in the morning dressed in black in the hangar."

All four European princes walked out of Tomlin's room, making sure not to look too conspicuous. They all passed by their rooms to get their swim trunks and headed outside to join the others. Eliza was lounging on a chair, near the pool, with three guys sitting around her. Raphael – _of course_ , Tomlin thought, rolling his eyes –, Alek and Henryk. Nikolai was still fully dressed and under a parasol, talking with Jericho in the pool; and Hans and Rance were talking with Cian in the pool as well.

"Oh, there you are," Eliza said when she saw Tomlin and the others coming out.

"Yeah," Caspian said. "But I'm going in the water!" he ran towards the pool and dive bombed, splashing everyone.

"Oh come _on_!" Nikolai protested. His shirt was all wet, now. "Can't you be civilized for once?"

"Who's not civilized?" Sebastian asked and bomb dived in as well.

Eliza laughed and took off her hat and sunglasses. "Yes, who isn't civilized, Niko?" she asked. She dived elegantly in the pool, and then she climbed out and walked towards Nikolai, a sly grin on her face.

"Oh, no," he said, seeing the dripping princess coming close. "Oh no, you're not doing–"

"Oh yes, I am," she said and started running after him when he stood from his chair. She caught up with him because he tripped on his own long legs and she hugged him, soaking his somewhat still dried clothes.

"Noooooo" he cried out as everyone came on top of him for the group hug. When they finally came off of him, he was as wet as anyone who had been in the swimming pool.

"There," Sebastian said. "Now you can go put your trunks on and come in the pool.

Nikolai sent him a cold stare. "You wish." He went back inside, but instead of coming back with a swimsuit, he had changed into clothes again, a shirt and a pair of trousers. Everyone rolled their eyes and let him be. He was impossible.

Henryk and Raphael observed and laughed from a distance, unable to take part in the smashing group hug and running after Eliza to throw her into the pool. It sounded fun, but not with injured ribs or a broken leg.

Around noon, the cooks came out with a cold food buffet, and everyone ate whatever they wanted and spent the rest of the day outside. Tomlin spent it mostly alone, thinking about their little night jaunt. He had to think about everything, or they would be recognized and caught.

By the end of the day, everyone had been carried and thrown into the water – save for Raphael, Henryk, and Nikolai – and it was a nice distraction from the latest events. They all changed for dinner, because protocol and etiquette wanted it to be formal, with the Illéan royal family, and after that, most of the guys met up in the cinema room to watch a movie with Eliza. Even Tomlin and his little team went. Around midnight, the movie was over, and everyone went to bed, tired because of the sun, the swimming pool, and the movie.

Tomlin couldn't sleep. After his valet retired for the night, and turned off his light and lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He missed his little glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling. He'd had them since he was twelve, and had never taken them off.

At one thirty, he dressed all in black, making sure to take four bandanas and baseball caps with him. He went out of the window and climbed down the wall, jumping the last couple of meters in the grass. He froze, listening if anyone had heard him. Not a sound. He followed the palace wall, sticking to the shadows and on tiptoes, making sure to stay in the grass. He headed to the Hangar, where he waited for the others. While waiting, he looked around with the light of his phone and found some bikes. Perfect.

At two, Sebastian arrived first, followed by Latreall a few minutes later.

"Is Caspian having cold feet?" Tom asked to no one in particular.

"No, I saw him," Lat replied, "and he said he was coming."

"Good."

They waited in the dark, and five minutes later, Caspian arrived. "Sorry," he said. "There were guards on my way, I had to make a detour."

"Did they see you?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Good. Okay, before we go, put these on," Tom said, handing them bandanas for their faces and baseball caps for their hair. After that, he showed them the bikes and they each mounted one and followed Tomlin out of the hangar.

"Hey, the gate with the door is over there," Sebastian said, pointing to his right.

"Trust me," Tomlin said. "I already walked out of the Palace Grounds. There's a hole in the wall somewhere."

" _Somewhere,_ " Latreall repeated. "Are you serious? You don't even know where it is!"

"Yes I do, now shut up!" Tomlin followed his instincts and rode to the wall. He stopped a moment, debating to go right or left. It was harder than he expected to find his way in the dark.

"Great, now we're lost," Caspian said.

"No. The entrance should be near. Come on!" Tomlin said, urging them to the left. And sure enough, there was a large enough hole in the old brick wall to let a grown man go through.

"Uhm, I don't want to sound stupid," Latreall said, "but the bikes don't go through the hole. It's basic physics."

Tomlin chuckled. "We pass them _over_ the wall." He hauled his bike over. "Seb, can you catch it?"

Seb grunted something, went through the hole and caught the bike on the other side. "Yep."

One by one the bikes passed over the wall, and they all drove into the night, following Tomlin into the unknown road. Fifteen minutes later, they were in town, at Tom's first point on his GPS. He took off his backpack and handed each of them a can of black spray paint while he held the _#QueenEliza_ stencil over the other one on the wall. Tom had fifteen spots in the city and they found a few more. All in all, the four boys sprayed twenty-three _#QueenEliza_ in Los Angeles, one for each Selected.

By the time they had finished, it was four thirty in the morning, and the sky was beginning to lighten in the east.

"Time to go home," Tom said, yawning. This was his second all-nighter, and he could feel it.

"Hey, you!" someone shouted as they put the spray paints in Tom's bag. "Freeze!"

But instead of obeying the police officer's order, the four Selected mounted their bikes and pedaled like madmen through the city, taking small alleys and making it hard for the police car to follow them.

"Freeze! Stop where you are!" the Policeman kept shouting from his window.

Thankfully, Tom had his GPS on, and they rode as far as the wall before two police cars cut the road, and they didn't have any more choice than to stop.

"Hands in the air!"

* * *

 _ **Whooo! got another chapter out before I left for camp!**_

 _ **I hope I'll be able to write a little, but I can't promise anything. I won't be able to publish anything, because I won't have my computer or wifi...^^**_

 _ **anyway, hope you liked this chapter! can't wait to read your thoughts on it ;)**_

 _ **see you in a couple of weeks!**_


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

The four boys stopped their bikes and slowly put their hands above their heads.

"Put your hands behind your head," one of the police officers said. They obeyed, and the policemen pushed them against the hoods of the cars and put cuffs on their wrists.

"I need your name, mister," the chief said to Seb.

"I don't usually carry my ID card around, sir. But if you must know, I'm His Royal Highness, Prince Sebastian Alexander Johan Frederick van Helms of Belgium, Duke of Arenberg."

The policeman flashed his light in the prince's face. "You don't say," he said sarcastically. "And I'm the Queen of England."

"That would be my grandmother," Tomlin replied, "but you don't really look like her."

"Shut up," the policeman holding him down said. "You four are under arrest, and you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court-"

"Can I choose Eliza?" Tom said, and the policeman grunted and rolled his eyes.

"Dude, shut up," Caspian said.

"I can't believe this is happening," Latreall muttered.

"As I was saying," the policeman continued, "You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any question and-"

"Just get to the point, officer," Tomlin said.

"Wait," one of the officers said, scrolling on his phone. "That is really Prince Sebastian. Here, look," he said, handing his phone to the chief police.

The chief grunted and took the phone. He flashed his light in Seb's face again, comparing the picture with the real face. He took off the Prince's baseball cap and pulled down the bandana.

"Oh, crap, you're right," he said. And frowned. He checked the others, and unfortunately, they were all Selected. And royalty.

He looked at Tomlin. "Sorry, Your Highness," he said. "I didn't mean any disrespect to your Queen."

Tomlin chuckled. "We'll talk about that once you took the cuffs off."

"I can't do that," the Chief Police said. "You broke the law, I have to take all of you in custody, prince or not."

Seb snorted. "Okay. But I'm calling my lawyer, first. You said we could." He grinned at the policeman.

"He's right, chief," another said.

"You'll call your lawyer from the police station," the chief said, getting more and more annoyed at the situation. "Now, everyone in the cars."

Caspian and Tomlin were put in one car, while Seb and Latreall were put in another one.

" _Tu m'as dit qu'on ne se ferait pas prendre,"_ Caspian said to Tom, who also spoke some french.

" _Ouai, ben désolé, ça ne faisait pas partie du plan, crois-moi_ ," Tomlin replied, sighing.

"But don't worry. Our lawyers will get us out of here." He paused. "Even just a word from Eliza or her father will do."

Caspian snorted. "You're already on your second chance, remember?"

"Don't remind me," he mumbled.

They rode the rest of the drive in silence. In the east, it was already Monday morning, the sky was pink and the sun was slowly rising. Once the people at the Palace realized there were four missing Selected, it would be chaos. Or maybe they wouldn't be missed right away. Damn, they were so close to the Palace wall. Good thing Tomlin abandoned his bag full of spray paints somewhere in the city during the chase. At least it could maybe help in finding them not guilty, in the end. Except for their hands full of paint…

A few minutes later, they were at the police station. The four boys were all sitting in one cell, waiting. The chief police was on the phone, but they couldn't hear what he was saying. At some point, Tomlin lay down on the bench, put his arm over his eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

"I can't believe he can actually sleep," Latreall said. "We're held in custody, we might even get shipped back to Europe, and he's sleeping!"

"Hey, calm down, man," Seb said. "Everything's gonna be okay. We're royalty. We have diplomatic immunity. They can't do anything to us."

Latreall stared at his cuffed hands in his lap. "My mom's gonna kill me when she learns of this."

"There's no need for her to know," Tomlin mumbled, from under his arm.

"Yeah right," Caspian said, bitter. "Now that they know who we are, they're calling the Palace, and Oliver will be delighted to call our countries." He snorted. "Four guys out of his home. How convenient."

"Don't say that," Seb said, trying to play down their situation a bit. "Eliza also has something to say about this. It's her Selection, after all."

"You think it was her idea?" Latreall asked. "Like hell it was. Remember how unhappy she was about it?"

"Is she still, though?" Tomlin asked. "Look," he said sitting up. "We did her a favor." He looked at the policemen some meters away and whispered, "If someone finds our bag, they mind continue our work. We started a Graffiti War, and I hope others will take it on, too."

"Did you have time to post the picture on Twitter?" Seb asked.

"No." Tom sighed. "I wanted to do it as soon as we got back home."

"Too bad," Caspian said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "It's probably going to be gone by the time we get home," he said, looking at the box with their personal items in it, on the desk, on the other side of the bars.

The conversation stopped when the noise of opening doors reached them.

"Let me in," a calm, but a strong voice said.

"And you are…, sir?" one of the policemen asked to the stranger.

"Lieutenant General Murray of the Illéan Army. His Majesty the King sent me here to retrieve the four Selected you have put behind bars. I'm sorry to inform you that they have diplomatic immunity."

"See, I told you," Seb whispered.

The policeman saluted. "But sir, they might be Princes and Selected, they broke the law."

"That may be true, Officer," Murray said, "but rest assured that His Majesty will deal with them himself."

The poor police officer didn't have much choice than to obey the army superior and went to open the cell where Latreall, Caspian, Tomlin, and Sebastian were held. He also took their cuffs off and they all took their phones back.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take those, for now," Murray said, holding his hand out. One by one the Princes gave away their phones. They knew they were in a bad place, so they obeyed. The black army Homer H1 waiting for them outside seemed scary and ominous, but all four climbed inside, Murray in the front next to the driver.

The drive back to the palace was short but silent. Once there, they followed the Lieutenant General to the King's office, seeing no one else in the halls. Not even Eliza or the other boys. But in their defense, it was still early in the morning. Maybe they were still sleeping? Or maybe they were avoiding them altogether?

The valet waiting outside the office knocked, stepped in, announced them to the King, and came back out to let the five visitors in.

The boys were surprised to find the King not in a crisp suit, but in a pair of jeans, and a black sweater. He looked tired. As one, they all bowed to the monarch, knowing well enough that their staying in Illéa was of little hope, now. They stayed standing, their hands either in their pockets, in their back, or in front of them. The only one looking at the king was Sebastian. The Lieutenant-General was frozen in his salute.

But for a long moment, the King ignored them, as if he was far away in his thoughts. His assistant – wearing a crisp suit – made some noise to rouse the King from his thoughts.

He stirred and looked up at the five visitors. "Good morning Lieutenant General," he said. "At ease."

The man took a more comfortable position and waited.

"Gentlemen," Oliver said coldly, addressing the four royals. "I hope you all have a good explanation for what you did."

It wasn't a question. More like an order.

"Yes, sir," Tomlin said before anyone could say anything. "I mean, Your Majesty."

Oliver nodded once, giving permission to Tom to continue.

"I'm sure you've seen the graffiti around town, claiming Millie- I mean, Princess Emilia as the next Queen…" he paused, waiting for an answer from the King, which didn't come. "We just wanted to straighten things up and remind everyone that Eliza is the rightful Queen to Illéa's throne."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Oliver said at last, with no emotion in his voice, "but totally useless." He paused. "You see, whatever the people say, Eliza will inherit the throne. The only thing that will incapacitate her to step up is if she's dead." He paused. "So you don't have to worry about seeing Millie on the throne. She's going to be in the Iranian Empire, anyway, only a step away from being Empress. Only, she won't be. Because I know for a fact that Kamran will not try to kill his brother for the throne. He respects him too much."

"May I ask how you know that?" Sebastian spoke up.

"I talked with Kamran, and some other people, and that's none of your business." He shifted his position in his chair. "Now, what should I do with you four?" he said as if asking this question to himself. "Lieutenant General, what do you think?"

Murray puffed his chest, honored to have the King ask for his advice. "The Police said they broke the law. But the way I see it, they're adults. Running away is not forbidden. Now, graffiti isn't punishable by law either, unless it has some political message behind it, and it has." He paused, thinking. "The only problem about this situation is that these four are Selected, Princes – or Earls – and have diplomatic immunity. The easiest solution is to send them home, Your Majesty, and let their own government deal with them."

"Hmph," Oliver muttered. He looked at each young man in turn. There was one problem, though. If Eliza chose to keep them in her Selection, it was because she at least liked them. It couldn't be his choice if he sent them home. And she had already saved Tomlin once.

"Damnit," Oliver cursed under his breath. "You guys are _royalty_. How are you _this_ misbehaved?"

Sebastian almost choked on a laugh. "Sorry, sir- Your Majesty," he corrected.

Oliver glared at the Belgian Prince. "Don't you dare say it."

Sebastian clammed his lips together and nodded.

Oliver sighed heavily. "Just get the hell out. And not a word to anyone, until I decide what to do with you four."

"Wait, you're serious?" Tomlin asked.

"Get out, before I change my mind, scamp."

The four boys scattered away, under the baffled stare of the Lieutenant General.

"Ha!" Sebastian said to Tomlin once they were out of earshot. "He called you _scamp_!"

"Shut the bloody hell up, Seb," Tom replied. They headed to the second floor, encountering only maids and servants. Until they reached the top of the stairs, where Eliza was coming down herself.

She was surprised to see them all, dressed in black clothes, with bandanas around their necks.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Nothing," Latreall said. "We went out for a little workout."

"Jogging," Caspian said, going further.

"Dressed like that?" she said.

"The more you're covered, the more you sweat," Seb added. "We're off to take a shower before breakfast."

At the mention of _sweat_ and _shower_ , Eliza wrinkled her nose. "Please do take a shower."

They nodded in unison and headed to their respective rooms to shower and change. The black paint on their fingers was the worst to take off, but with enough scrubbing with solvent, it almost all came off.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Tuesday morning started off rather well, with the guys debating about water. Some said the water was wet, the others said it couldn't be wet, because it was what wet other things. Anyway. Raphael was bored out of his life in a corner, playing with a small bouncing ball that he threw against the wall and caught in his hand every single time.

"Can't we talk about something more interesting?" he suddenly said above the chatter in the room. "I feel like I'm in a third-year classroom."

"Speak for yerself, lad," Cian said. "Ye think ye're above everyone because ye saved Eliza's life?" he snorted. "Think again. We're still here."

"You know what," Nikolai said. "Let's just indulge him for one minute." He stared at the Swiss lieutenant and crossed his arms over his chest. "Give us a more interesting subject, then."

Raphael rolled his eyes and sat up straight, wincing as his ribs set into place. "I don't know, something like politics, or Eliza, or the Graffiti war that's going on?"

Alek chuckled. "You mean the _#QueenMillie_ tags?"

"No," Raphael said. "These." He handed his phone over, showing them a picture of a black _#QueenEliza_ tag over a red one.

Alek took the phone and scrolled down. Some looked over his shoulders, the others took out their own phones. "They seem to have popped up during the past couple days."

"Yeah," Henryk said. "They're all over Los Angeles."

"I wonder who did that," Tomlin said innocently, and Caspian glared at him.

"Probably some psychopath," Rance said. "Or someone with a big crush on the Princess."

All eyes turned to Raphael.

"Hey, I didn't do anything. Broken ribs, remember?"

Just then, Henri came in with a box of Swiss chocolates to share with the guys.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Seb complained. " _Swiss_ chocolate again?"

"Everyone knows it's the best," Raphael replied with a smirk and took a piece from the box.

"No, it isn't!" Seb said.

"Okay, everyone shut up," Henri said, raising his voice to be heard. "I'm not here to talk about chocolate, but about the next dates. _Illéa Weekly_ is coming next week, every single day, to cover dates with Eliza. After everything that happened these past few days – the attack, Rafe's passing, and the graffiti war just to name a few – we are going to take everyone's mind off that and give them something else to focus on again, like the Selection."

Nikolai rolled his eyes.

"Something to say about that, Mister Russian Prince?" Henri said.

"Don't call me that, Henri," he said. "Do we have to go on a public date with her?"

"Yes," Henri replied. And he felt exactly like Raphael a few minutes earlier: it was like being the teacher of third-years… "Okay, everyone sit down, we're going to talk about this." He waited for everyone to find a proper seat. "There are twelve of you left, unless someone leaves before Monday." He paused, for effect. "Monday through Saturday is six days, so Eliza will go on two dates a day. You will be able to choose the day, the hour, and the activity."

"What? But what if we don't have any ideas?" Nikolai asked again.

"Then we'll find you one," Henri said. "Don't worry about that. And I'll make sure Eliza eliminates some of your after next week, so we can finally get to the Elite. This is your last chance to shine, before the beginning of the end."

During the rest of the morning, they decided who would go when, and what they would do. The order of the Selected and the activities were going to be a surprise for Eliza.

Just before lunch, though, Henri received a message on his tablet. He raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, Latreall, Tom, Seb, and Caspian, could you just come with me, please?" he said in front of everyone.

The four boys looked at each other, already dreading the worst. It had been a little more than twenty-four hours since their last encounter with the King, and they had kept their mouths shut. No one suspected them. Yet. Tomlin had not posted their selfie with their street art.

They followed Henri outside where the King's assistant was waiting for them. They followed him to Oliver's office, where four of our seats were waiting for them, facing the king in a semi-circle.

"I've come to a decision," the King said, making eye contact with each one, once they were seated. "It is not my decision to keep you or not in the Selection, it is Eliza's. But until she eliminates you or decides to marry one of you, you will all remain in your rooms, except for meals and dates. When you leave your room, you will be escorted by two guards, wherever you go."

Seb and Tom nodded, happy to still be part of the Selection, even though they were grounded. Like, little boys.

At a motion of the King's head, eight guards came in two behind each boy. They were escorted back to their rooms. Thankfully, the guards stayed outside the doors, and the boys were all alone in their bedrooms. Their only means of communication were their phones or yelling at each other from their balconies. Or they could wait for mealtimes.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Everyone was surprised to see Tom, Seb, Lat, and Cas coming into the dining room for lunch with their guards – who stayed by the door – and walk away with them after dinner. Curious about it, Eliza headed to her father's office.

"Your father's in a video conference with Switzerland, the South African Nation, and Poland," the valet said. "I'm afraid your father is not available at the moment."

Eliza frowned. "He asked me to join him for that," she lied.

"Oh, well, then, please go in," the servant replied, not really sure what else to do.

Eliza pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. Her father was standing in front of a huge screen with the Swiss and Polish presidents and the S.A.N. King.

"…and I have just received the latest report from our combined teams," Oliver was saying oblivious to his daughter behind him. "They were able to identify who was using the robot drones by, uh," he checked his notes. "Anyway, it's too complicated for me, but long story short, the group who bought the Robots from New Asia were a group of extremists in Illéa, campaigning for Millie to be on the Throne, and-"

"Hm-hm," Eliza said, clearing her voice to be noticed.

Oliver turned around on his heels. "Eliza. What are you doing here? I'm in the middle of something."

"This concerns me, too, dad," she said. "Good afternoon," she said to the three people on the screen."

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," they said in almost in unison.

"So, extremists, huh?" Eliza sat. "And apparently there are two groups, now. Did you see the latest graffiti in town?"

Oliver cleared his throat as well and turned to the three people on the screen. "Please excuse me." He gently grabbed Eliza by the arm and guided her to the adjacent room. "Eliza this is really not a good time. I was in the middle of something, here."

"Yeah, I know. But it also concerns me."

"It will, once everything is under control. You will be notified of everything."

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore. And if I'm going to be queen one day, I'd like to take part in these kinds of things. At least to practice."

Oliver sighed. He closed his eyes, thinking. "Okay, fine. But you just listen and let me do the talking. Once we're done, we can talk more in detail."

"Thanks," she said, kissing her father on the cheek.

They both walked back in the office. "Please excuse us," the Illéan King said. "Eliza will be joining us for the rest of the video conference."

They all nodded and continued where that had left off. Turned out the extremists were a group of people who wanted Millie and the throne, and they knew the Illéan laws: she could only step up if Eliza was dead. The bullets Linus and Raphael had taken were all for Eliza. The others were stray bullets. By now the group was behind bars. But it was impossible to know if there were others out there, ready to continue the mission.

New Asia had also been contacted, and they claimed they had no idea who they were selling the drones to, and for what purpose. There was still no news as to who had sold the prototypes and plans to New Asia, though.

Two hours later, the video conference was over, and everyone went back to their own countries and problems. The investigation was over. It was decided that more security would be used in case Eliza was leaving the Palace premises.

"Ok, so what did you want to talk about when you came in?" Oliver said, filling two glasses of whiskey. "And don't tell your mom about the drink."

The redhead chuckled. "I won't. What's with the guards following Seb, Tom, Lat, and Cas?"

"They're grounded until further notice."

"What for?"

"That's none of your business, honey," he said, sipping his whiskey. "That's between them and me. Now," he continued. "Speaking about guards, I have some good news for you." He paused for effect. "I've finally found a new permanent security detail for you. You won't have some incompetent random palace guard following you around anymore, but a professional."

"Do I know him? I mean, does he work at the Palace, already?" she asked, putting her glass down.

"No, you don't. Lieutenant General Murray selected his three best men for the job-"

"So they're from the army."

"Yes, and they have been trained for that. I interviewed the three of them, and the one I chose will do just fine."

"What's his name?" she asked, afraid of what kind of security detail her father had chosen for her.

"Jack Ferguson," Oliver said. He rang his secretary and asked him to bring in said man.

A minute later, the door opened, and a young man – probably around thirty years old – saluted to both the King and Eliza. The first thing the Princess noticed was how huge his eye were, and how long his eyelashes were, too. She almost was jealous of that. He didn't smile, and stared straight ahead, not making eye-contact.

"Hi," Eliza said, coming over and holding out her hand. "I'm Eliza."

"I know that, Your Highness," he said coldly, keeping in place for his salute, and not shaking her hand. "Jack Ferguson, at your service, Ma'am."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. That was not what she was expecting.

"I'll let you two get acquainted," Oliver said. "I've got work to do."

Eliza rolled her eyes and walked outside, Jack Ferguson on her heels. She walked past a maid in the hall. "Please send tea for two in the Blue Parlor, Erica," Eliza said, reading the maid's name on her tag. The tags had been her idea since she didn't want to be impersonal with the servants. She walked all the way to the Blue Parlor, on the other side of the hall and sat on an armchair.

"Please, sit," she said to her new security detail.

"I'd rather not," he said coldly. "And with all due respect, I'm not here for a tea party. That's not part of my job."

Eliza snorted and stood, facing him, her eyes level with his chin. Damn, he was tall. She had to look up to look him in the eye. "Okay, then let's get some things straight, Mr. Ferguson. First, I'm going to call you Jack. It's shorter and easier. Second, I'd like you to make eye-contact with me when I talk to you. Third, don't ever refuse a cup of tea or a drink I might offer you. Bonus of the job." She paused, thinking for another item on her list of rules. "Fourth," she continued, "When I'm on a date with one of the Selected, I don't want to see you. You stay way behind, and you make yourself invisible."

Just then, Erica walked in with the tray. She put it on the table and quickly walked away. Eliza sat in the armchair, again, and motioned for Jack to sit, too. This time, he obliged.

"Oh, and one more thing," she said, filling their cups with the hot tea. "Do not, under any circumstances, fall in love with me."

"That won't be a problem, miss," he said, taking the saucer with the teacup on it.

She snorted. "Good. Then don't fall in love with one of my Selected."

"Not a problem, either," he said, sipping his tea.

* * *

 _ **Hiii! sooo after 10 days cooking in camp, I finally got back home for writing ;) hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

 _ **I hope you also noticed the new character coming in, aka Jack Ferguson, and you can go see his section on the TWIW board!**_

 _ **Don't forget to go check the aesthetic board, too^^**_

 _ **okay, so one IMPORTANT thing. **Illéa Weekly **is coming back, and I'm planning on doing a second magazine with the 12 remaining selected before Eliza gets to the Elite! so don't be surprised if I send you a PM or something with questions for your guy's interview! ;)**_

 _ **I already have second date ideas for Cian, Raph, Caspian, and Latreall. So if you have an idea for yours, please send it in **_(through FF or Discord PMs...) _ **I'll really be needing them for the date week! thanks!**_

 _ **see you soooooon!**_

* * *

translations:

 _Tu m'as dit qu'on ne se ferait pas prendre =_ You said we wouldn't get caught.

 _Ouai, ben désolé, ça ne faisait pas partie du plan, crois-moi =_ Yeah, well it saint part of the plan, trust me.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

"Okay, so who exactly are you?" Eliza asked, eyeing Jack Ferguson over her cup of tea.

He sipped his in silence for a moment. "Is this a job interview? I think your father already went through all that with me."

She put the cup down, a little harder than intended. "Look. I don't care who you are, but I just want to know who's going to follow me everywhere, and if you're really dedicated to this job. Because if not, I'm going to fire you right away."

"Listen, Princess," he said, putting his cup down, too. "When I accepted the job, I knew what I was getting myself into. So just let me do my job. I promise you you won't have to worry about me. The only two things you need to know are these." He paused, for effect. "First, your Selected dudes will have to go through me for security clearance for their date ideas. And second, know that I would take a bullet for you."

At those words, Eliza paled.

"Too soon?"

"Yes," she said, standing.

"Sorry."

The tea lay unfinished in both their cups as they walked outside, Jack staying behind her, silent as a mouse, despite his size and big black boots. She could almost forget he was there. Almost. But not after what he had just said. How dare he twist the knife like that in her wound?

Without a word, she headed for her room, and thank goodness, he stayed outside. Turned out it would be her only sanctuary without him as a reminder of losing Linus always with her.

She sat on the couch, where a package was waiting for her on the coffee table. It was addressed only with her name on it. She took it on her lap and started to unwrap the brown paper. In it was a pile of papers and a letter.

 _-.-_

 _Dear Eliza,_

 _Thanks again for this opportunity. Switzerland suits me just fine, no one really recognizes me. There are so many non-Swiss people here, that I completely blend in. Of course, I took a new name, and Madam President was kind enough to provide me with a new identity. Please say thank you to Raphael for me._

 _Master Adern says hi, too, and we both hope Mistress Pebbles is fine._

 _Enclosed with this letter is the edited last draft of Tales Untold, Volume 4. I hope you enjoyed the first three (I don't know how fast you read, but when I left, you were still reading Volume 2). Anyway, happy reading, and good luck on your Selection._

 _Harihuto_

 _Ps: Oh, and Jinhai says Hi, too. I told him the truth, and he's come to visit me a few times. You two are sworn to secrecy, of course. And so is Raphael._

 _-.-_

Eliza smiled. It was nice to have some news about the New Asian Prince who had faked his death to be free of the crown. Sometimes she wished she could do the same. But of course, she could not. Not now, anyway.

"Hi," a familiar female voice said behind her, and Eliza jumped and turned around.

Kora Miller was leaning against the wall, a smirk on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Kora, what the hell are you doing in here?" the Princess asked. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Language, Princess," Kora replied, popping her bubble gum. "Did you forget about our appointment? How are those legs going? Not too hairy?"

Eliza self-consciously ran a hand on her legs. Kora was right. It was time. And yes, she had forgotten the appointment.

"And I brought you that package," she said. "It was sent to me, with a letter from Adriel W. L'Alfayage, claiming he wanted to give you something but that he didn't have your address. So he sent it to me since I'm in the directory." He frowned. "I wonder how he knew of me, though. Anyway," she said. "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Wait, how did you get in my room?" Eliza asked, still confused from seeing Kora appearing out of nowhere.

"Came through the servant's door, as usual," she said, putting a white sheet on the beautician bed she had set up. "And then your maid Samantha let me in, asking me to wait since you were talking with your dad." She prepared the wax. "Okay, get on, Princess."

Eliza rolled her eyes and stripped her skirt. "Can you be a little politer? I mean, I could get you fired for talking like that to me."

"Yeah, but you won't. Because I'm your only friend right now, right?" She chuckled, but not in a mean sort of way. She let Eliza climb on the bed and then started spreading the wax on her legs. "So," she started. "Only twelve left. Did you make your choice already?"

"No." Pause. "I don't know."

"Ha. So you're hesitating. Between who and who?"

Eliza snorted. "As if I was going to tell you. Never on earth. You're going to sell that information to magazines."

"I promise I won't say anything," she said. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Eliza eyed her suspiciously.

"Okay, pinkie swear?"

"No. I'm not telling you."

The redhead closed her eyes and tried to relax before Kora ripped off the blue wax.

"Fine, then if you're not telling me, let me tell you what I think of your boys."

"Go ahead, enlighten me," Eliza said sarcastically, concentrating on the warmth of the wax and the pain of the waxing.

"So," Kora said while working. It was said women could do two things at the same time, and she was damn good at it. "That Russian guy is cute, but he's gay, right? Why did they even send him here? I mean, he is competing for a Princess. And his counterpart, he has an ancient city name. damn, I can never remember. Babylon?"

"Jericho," Eliza said.

"Right, Jericho. He's cute too, but he's not my type. He's the Russian guy's type. And then there's the Spanish guy. Latreall, right? He's cute but too young for me. Oh, and then there's two I always mix up. The Swedish guy and the Belgian guy. What are their names, again?"

"Alek and Seb," Eliza answered.

"Oooh, you're using little nicknames. That's cute. Right, Aleksander of blablabla, too many names, and Sebastian also has too many names. The French guy is good-looking too, but I read an article – I don't remember the magazine – where it said that he was the mastermind behind the robot drones. Is that right?"

Eliza sighed. Was the girl ever going to stop talking? "Don't trust everything you read, Kora."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I'm asking." She paused, tearing off some wax. "The German guy is weird. I think I've never heard his voice on a Report. Is he mute or something?"

"No. He's just shy, and he's learning English."

"Okay. Uhm, let's see. Oooh, I know. The Irish guy. He's funny, right?"

"In a sense, yeah," Eliza said. "Ow!"

"Oh sorry. Who am I forgetting?"

"Half of them? You only named eight. You missed Raphael, Tomlin, and uh… Rance, and Henryk."

"Ha! I knew it," Kora said. "You said Raphael and Tomlin first! You're hesitating between those two."

"No, I'm not!" Eliza defended herself. "Now just finish waxing me and stop talking for a bit, okay?"

"Ugh, fine. Turn around," she ordered. Kora managed to be silent for three minutes, which was already super long for her. "Oh, before I forget. Kyle says hi, and he's wondering how Pebbles is going. She's pregnant right?"

"Yes, she is. But I haven't seen her in ages." She paused. "A few days, maybe, actually."

"She's probably hiding somewhere to give birth," Kora said. "You want to call Kyle so find her and check on her?"

"You know what? Why not. I'll call you when Pebbles seems ready."

"Excellent, I'll tell him. He'll be happy to see you again," Kora said.

The Princess snorted. "I doubt that. He was pretty unhappy about the Selection if I recall."

"He was, but meeting you changed his point of view. I think."

After that, Eliza let Kora chatter away, not really listening and answering only with small noises or just yes or no. When she was done, Eliza ran her fingers on her smooth skin and thanked Kora for her time, and for the package.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

It was the end of the afternoon when Eliza went outside to join the boys in the garden. Mid-September was still summer-y in Angeles, and most of them were in their bathing suits, either swimming, lounging, or playing soccer. Eliza took off her summer dress, revealing a beautiful striped one-piece bathing suit underneath.

Some of the boys noticed her coming towards them.

"Hey," Alek said. "Long time no see. What have you been up to?"

"Work, mostly," Eliza replied, putting on her sun glasses.

"Who's that guy?" Raphael asked, motioning behind her.

The Princess didn't have to turn around to know who he was referring to. "New Security Detail," she sighed.

"He looks kind of creepy," Henryk noticed, looking at Jack.

"He is," Eliza confirmed. "But don't mind him. He's only _doing his job_." She rolled her eyes

"He's straight from the Army, isn't he?" Raphael asked, eyeing Jack.

"Yeah. So, what did I miss?" Eliza asked.

"Nothing much," Alek said. "We've been out only for an hour, anyway. Not doing much."

"Royal life in Illéa is pretty cool," Jericho said, dripping from the pool. "Work in the morning, relax in the afternoon."

"Speak for yourself," Eliza said. "I've been in a meeting practically all afternoon." She didn't talk about her waxing episode, because that was private. It was kind of a meeting, though. "Oh, and Henri told me about next week, the _Illéa Weekly_ and all. Good thing you're going to be doing all the hard work," she smirked.

"Yeah, it's going to be fun, you'll see!" Rance said.

Eliza sat in the grass on her towel and the eight boys – minus the four who were grounded in their rooms – sat with her, in a circle.

"You know what?" she suddenly said. "We should do something all together, before this crazy date week. What do you think?"

"Aye, definitely," Cian said. "Like what?"

"I was kind of hoping you guys would have an idea?" she said.

Nikolai rolled his eyes. "We really have to do all the work here, seriously. First, finding another date idea, and now we have to come up with a group date suggestion?" He scoffed. "You know what? Just pick whatever you like, I'll just tag along."

"Is that a challenge?" Jericho said, messing around with Niko.

The Russian prince eyed Jericho. "Careful, sunshine."

The others laughed.

"Okay, what about a day at the beach?" Jericho suggested.

"Or let's all go to the zoo?" someone said.

"Oh! I know!" Rance said. "What about Disneyland!"

"Hell yeah, I'd go to Disneyland," Cian said.

"You're serious," Eliza asked. Most of them nodded. "Where are Seb, Lat, Cas, and Tom?" she asked, looking around.

"Up there," Raphael said, a sly smirk on his face. "They're stuck to their rooms. Hi, Tom!" Raph waved at Tom watching from his window.

Tomlin opened it and waved back from his balcony, a sarcastic smile on his face. "What are you guys up to?" he yelled from up there.

"You wanna go to Disneyland?" Rance yelled back.

"What?" Tomlin asked. "Is that a joke or something?"

"Nope, they're serious," Eliza called back.

"What's going on?" Caspian and Sebastian asked at the same time, coming out on their balconies.

The nine people on the grass started laughing.

"They want to go to Disneyland," Tomlin said. "And it's not a joke."

"Oh, yeah, I'm down for it," Sebastian said.

Caspian rolled his eyes. "Is that really necessary, though? Why?"

"Group date!" Alek said. "Before next week."

"Where's Latreall?" Eliza asked, looking at the other empty balconies.

"Probably making marbles tracks in his room," Tomlin replied. "Here, let me call him." with that, he took his phone out and called Latreall. "Dude. Come out on your balcony. We're going to Disneyland."

Giggles came up from the garden, and Caspian wasn't sure if this was a joke or not.

"What do you mean, Disneyland?" Latreall said, coming out of his marble tracks, marbles in his pockets.

"Yeah, and were all going as Disney characters!" Rance added, as the idea popped in his head.

"I'm sorry, but this is not going to happen," a serious voice said, cutting in the excitement. The Disney Character thing was too much for Jack.

"Excuse me?" Eliza asked, turning around. "And please tell me why not?"

Jack tried very hard not to roll his eyes at the Princess. "Too many security risks."

"That's why we're going undercover. If we're all dressed as Disney Characters, no one will recognize us," Rance said.

"That's out of the question," Jack said again.

Eliza chuckled. "Did my father forget to mention that the job consisted of babysitting twelve kids?"

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, trying to stay calm. This was not what he had imagined his job to be like, to be honest. "Let me just make one thing clear," he said. "I am not the babysitter of thirteen people, but just you, Princess."

"Ouch," Latreall said from his balcony.

"So yes, it is my job to keep _you_ safe," Jack continued. "I don't really care about the others."

Nikolai stood and placed himself in front of Jack towering over him with a few centimeters. "I don't think King Oliver would be very happy to hear you say that, Jack," he said, kind of spitting out his name. "And maybe I have to remind you that we are not random guys. We are Princes. And if anything happens to us, then you will probably, at best be fired, and at worst be executed." Niko's eyes were as cold as ice. "So you better make sure this trip to Disneyland is well-secured, and that Eliza has fun. Understood?"

Jack Ferguson glared at Nikolai. "You don't scare me."

"Maybe I don't. But you'll still do as a said. Because if you don't, King Oliver will know about it."

"Fine," Jack said. "But I won't be responsible for either of you."

Nikolai patted him on the head as if he was talking to a three-year-old. "That's a good boy. Do what you have to do." He flashed him a sarcastic grin and Jack turned on his heels, angry to have been told out by the Russian prince.

"Wow," Tomlin said from his high position. "That was intense."

Nikolai shrugged, indifferent, but then laughed. "It was fun to finally be able to use my rank, here."

Eliza chuckled. "Thanks. He was really pissed."

"Okay, so how are we doing this?" Rance said. "We need to prepare for Disneyland."

"Niko has to be Elsa, the Ice Queen," Henryk said. "I see no other way."

Nikolai rolled his eyes. "There's no way I'm dressing as Elsa. I'm going as me, and that's final."

"Uh, no," Jericho said. "You said you would tag along at whatever we chose to do. You're going as Elsa."

Nikolai couldn't say no to his sunshine. "Fine. But if I'm going as the Ice Queen, you're going as Moana."

"Okay! Fine with me!" Jericho said, and everyone laughed.

They spent the next ten minutes trying to decide who would dress as who, but they couldn't agree on anything. So Eliza took her hat, some papers someone found in his pocket or his bag; they all wrote one or two characters on them, threw them in the hat, and then picked one each. They had to dress up as the character they had selected. Everyone had a good laugh, and then it was time to go change for dinner. Everyone would be responsible for their own costume. Either from Amazon, or DIY.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

The end of the week went by in a blur. Between the guys getting their dates ready and the Disneyland expedition to prepare with the costumes, everyone was quite busy.

But on Thursday morning, Eliza finally found Pebbles, hidden behind a sofa in an empty bedroom, ready to explode. Or to give birth. She called Kora, telling her to send Kyle ASAP. She waited near her precious cat, waiting for the siblings to arrive. Forty-five minutes later they were at Eliza's side making sure Mistress Pebbles delivered all her kittens safely.

It took Pebbles three full hours to have her whole litter of kittens. Six in total. Five were different shades of gray, like their mother, and one was orange. It wasn't hard to guess who the father was, between Adern, Vasavi, and Shadow. It was definitely Adern since the kitten was orange like him.

When the mother and the kittens were safe, clean, and comfortable in their royal basket and blankets, Eliza went out to find the boys. All twelve wanted to have a look at the tiny kittens, and they all swooned over them.

"Ohmygodlookhowcutethisoneis!" Latreall said in one breath, barely containing his excitement.

"No, this one is cuter," Tomlin said, pointing to the lightest gray one.

"Can we name them?" Raphael asked.

"Sure, why not?" Eliza said. She already had Mistress Pebbles, let the boys name them.

"We can name this one Orange," Caspian said, pointing to the orange one.

"No. Too obvious," Henryk said. "Just like your chicken Cocotte."

Everyone laughed.

"What about Fred?" Sebastian asked.

"Ew, no," Rance said. "Something more like Bagheera."

"Bagheera is black, idiot," Cian said. "If you want to give him a Disney name, at least name him Sher-Kân."

Rance grinned. "Excellent idea."

"But what if it's a girl?" Nikolai asked, practical as ever.

"Then we'll call her Nala," Rance said.

Kyle, who was still there to make sure all the cats were okay, and to have a little inside look of the Selection, spoke up. "It's a boy. There is only one girl, and it's the lightest gray one."

"Huh. Good to know," Tomlin said. "So we already have Sher-Kân for the orange one." He typed in the names on his phone, so they wouldn't forget. "What about the others?"

"Ash?" Cian suggested. "For the girl."

"I like Ash," Eliza said. So Tomlin wrote the name down.

"Grady!" Jericho said. "It's gray too."

Alek chuckled. "Grayson?"

"Grady and Grayson," Tomlin said. "Which is which?"

"The two darkest ones?" Raphael said. "Like Grayson the darkest, and Grady the second?"

"Got it," Tomlin said. "Two more names."

"Gandalf the Grey," Hans said. "For one of the boys left."

Everyone looked at him. He didn't speak often, and they were surprised to hear his voice. So was Kora.

"Gandalf the Grey. I like that," Eliza said. Tomlin wrote the name down.

"And for the last one," Alek said, "what about something totally random, and not related to its color? Something like… Zephyr?

Everyone accepted and Tomlin wrote the name down. And thus, the kittens were baptized.

* * *

 _ **Hiii! sorry, this chapter was all over the place, with the Selected being silly with Eliza and all. I wanted to have some screen time with everyone in it.**_

 _ **So, I've sent out the interviews for the Illéa Weekly! I don't need then ASAP, but not in six months either. The Magazine will probably come out once all the date have been done, and they still have to go to Disneyland xD hope you'll enjoy that little expedition LMAO.**_

 _ **Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, and don't forget to go check the aesthetic board,** **because** **KITTENS! ^^**_


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

On Saturday morning, they met after breakfast in the main hall, already in their costumes. They arrived one after the other, and even the four grounded selected got permission to go out on the group date.

The first two to arrive were Jericho as Moana, in a male edition of the character, and Nikolai as Elsa, also in a gender-bent costume.

"Ha! Niko, you look awesome!" Jericho said when he saw Niko.

"Shut up. I hate playing dress-up

"Maybe, but it suits you." He grinned and gave his _friend_ a shove.

On the other hand, Niko couldn't keep his eyes off Jericho's bare chest. He even had a fake tattoo on his arm, and a piglet stuffed animal in one hand. "You look… cool, too."

Jericho smirked. "Yeah, I know."

Then came Tomlin and Latreall, as Hercules and Alice in Wonderland respectively. The four guys had a good laugh upon seeing each other. They had all agreed not to show each other their costumes until the 'field trip day'.

"Oh my Lord, Latreall. The dress suits you so well!" Jericho said.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, twirling around, making his blue skirt poof around him. "Pretty cool, huh? And guess what. It has pockets!" he said, thinking back at what Eliza had said about pockets in dresses.

Tomlin burst out laughing.

"Yeah, well, you have a skirt too, Hercules," Latreall said to Tomlin.

"I do," he said, looking down. But at least I have pecs." He hit them like a gorilla and Niko let out a high-pitched laugh. The three others looked at him surprised. He didn't laugh often.

After that, Caspian, Cian, and Sebastian arrived, and the four already there laughed.

"I thought you were supposed to be the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella?" Jericho asked Caspian, eyeing his sparkly blue dress, fairy wings, and huge white wig.

"I am the Fairy Godmother, but from Shrek."

"Is that even Disney?" Nikolai asked.

"DreamWorks, actually," Caspian replied. "But they were together at some point. But not anymore."

"And who are you again?" Latreall asked Cian, eyeing the Irish prince.

"Esmeralda, you uncultured human," he said. "Gender-bend."

"Huh. You forgot the goat," Jericho said.

Sebastian had put on a green pair of pants where he had glued rows and rows of semi-circle shiny plastic things on it, had some green fins on his fists, a purple seashell necklace, had died his hair and beard red, and was carrying Sebastian the Crab on his shoulder. Oh, and he also had some sort of DIY trident. Meet Ariel, Gender-bend.

Just after that, Gender-bend Merida, aka Alek, came in with Minnie carrying Henryk on her shoulders. But with a broken leg, it was a bit awkward.

Rance and Hans arrived together as Aladdin and The Evil Queen from Snow White, and they were quite the sight. Everyone talked about their costumes, laughed at each other, and didn't notice Elinor, Oliver, Millie, and Kamran coming down the stairs to watch the whole scene, completely unamused. How could a group of princes ridicule themselves like this? Playing dress-up and go to a kids' playground, Disneyland?

"Okay, who's missing?" Alek asked, his red hair wig flowing around his shoulders.

"Raph and Eliza," Tomlin said, looking around.

"I'm here," Eliza said, arriving in a Peter Pan outfit. She was wearing dark green leggings, a lighter green long shirt with pointy sleeves and bottom, a brown belt, and brown flats. She had paired the outfit with a small green hat with a red feather and had tied her hair in a tight bun at the nape of her neck, leaving some shorter strands hanging in the front. "How do I look?" she asked.

"Wow," Alek said, going over her green outfit.

"It makes your green eyes stand out," Nikolai offered.

"You look ridiculous," Millie said from the stairs. "You're all stupid for going there dressed like that."

Eliza shrugged. "You know, if you don't do anything fun and crazy from time to time, you don't live your best life."

Millie rolled her eyes. "Gucci bags and Channel scarves are my best life." With that, she pulled Kamran away and they headed upstairs.

Eliza went over all the boys' costumes, marveling at their creativity, and at their courage to actually go out like that.

"As you said," Rance said. "You don't live your best life until you do something fun and crazy. I guess this is it."

Elinor and Oliver left without comment, but still thought it was stupid and ridiculous. And that was without talking about Jack and the twelve other guards who would go with them. They were all wearing civilian clothes and they didn't know if they should laugh or cry at the situation.

"Hey, where's Raph?" Henryk suddenly said as they were heading for the cars outside.

"I don't know," Eliza said, looking around. "Maybe I should call him." She took out her phone from the only pocket she had – "Hey, look, I have pockets, too!" Latreall said – and called Raph. "Hey, where are you? We're all ready to go," she said

"Do I have to come?" he asked.

"Yeah, now hurry up," she admonished and hung the phone up.

They were all outside when Raphael finally showed himself at the top of the stone stairs. He hoped no one would see him, but that was wishful thinking.

"Ha! You look awesome, Raph!" Cian said sarcastically.

Everyone turned around to look at Kuzco coming down the stairs. Raphael quickly took off his golden hat and hurried down the stairs and into a car. "I look ridiculous," he mumbled as Eliza sat next to him.

"No, you look… royal," she said, chuckling.

Raphael rolled his eyes and looked outside.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Thirty minutes later, the three limos stopped in front of the Amusement Park and the thirteen costumed people plus the thirteen bodyguards climbed out.

"So, how does this work?" Rance asked, rubbing his hands together. "Do we go in for free, or do we go in the line, over there?"

"Neither," Eliza said. "I printed the tickets from home." She held out the twenty-six tickets and gave them out to the guys. Because she was the only girl in the group, but no one would even know that, with all these costumes.

They filed in the park, and Jack gathered them around as a chicken gathers her chicks. "Okay, some ground rules for today. Always stay in groups, I don't want to see anyone hanging alone. The guards will be following you at a distance. This is the meeting point in case something goes wrong. All the guards are wired to me, and they'll bring you back here in a split second if need be."

The boys knew they couldn't mess up this opportunity. This was their last shot at doing something fun and crazy before the end of the selection altogether, and they didn't want to throw that away.

"Yes sir," Rance said, saluting.

The others followed, some in a mocking way, but all were okay with the rules.

"Whatever," Jack said. "Just scatter away." He sighed as the costumed kids ran in one big group towards Main Street.

"Thanks," Eliza said, still standing in her Peter Pan outfit next to Jack. "I mean, that's probably not what you signed up for, but thanks."

Jack snorted. "You don't say." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Just go _amuse_ yourself, Princess."

Eliza shrugged and walked on, following the guys on Main Street, Jack walking a few paces behind her. Rance was the most existed of all the boys, but then again, he knew every single Disney song that existed, had seen every single Disney movie and Movie adaptation, but he had never gone to a Disneyland Resort ever in his life.

"Wow, Roseanne would _die_ of she knew I was here!" Rance said, talking about his little sister.

"Why don't you bring her to a Disneyland resort?" Hans asked him.

"Because the closest to New Zealand is Hong Kong, or Tokyo," he replied.

"So? You're a Prince. You can just take your jet and fly there, no?" Hans said. His English was getting better and better.

"Yes and no. I mean, we're not on bad terms with New Asia… it would just be weird for us to go there just for Disneyland."

"True," Hans said.

"Guys!" Tomlin said in his ridiculous Hercules costume. "Who wants Mickey cookies!"

"Me!" Everyone said at the same time, and ran to Tomlin, who was getting his wallet out of his miniskirt pocke, and payed for cookies for everyone. Not the guards, though.

Eliza didn't want one. They had just finished breakfast, how could they all want to eat so soon? After that, the boys went by groups of two, three, or four to different areas in the park. Eliza stayed behind, not being invited in any of the groups.

"I told you not to stay alone," Jack said, coming up behind her.

"I'm not alone. There's you," she said. She strolled down Main Street, taking in every detail. There were so many people, it was easy to pass unnoticed in this costume. She took some pictures of this and that, and then turned to Jack.

"Have you already been here?" she asked.

"No. We didn't have that kind of money to spare when I was a kid," he replied. "You?" he decided to ask, making conversation.

"No. My dad said it was too dangerous to come here. Too many people." She chuckled. "And I don't think the people would be very happy to see their tax money used for the Princesses to go to Disneyland."

Jack snorted. "What about today?"

"My grandmother sponsored the day." She sighed. "It's maybe the last thing she'll be able to do, really."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Well, keep that to yourself, but she's sick, and I don't know how long she still has." Eliza looked away. "I just hope she'll still be there for my wedding. Or at least to know who I'll choose."

Jack didn't reply. So the girl did have some feelings, after all. "I'm sorry to hear that," he finally said. "I didn't know."

"No, you wouldn't have known. We didn't say anything to the public, yet."

They were silent for a moment, and continued walking down the street at a slow pace.

At some point, she saw Mickey Mouse, and went to ask him if she could take a picture with him. Jack had to take the picture, and he was not amused. He took some other pictures of Eliza with some random Disney characters, and then gave her back her phone.

"I think that's enough pictures for one day, don't you think?" he asked.

Eliza shrugged. "We'll see." At the end of Main Street, was the Castle, and some of the boys were taking pictures and selfies together in front of the castle. When they saw Eliza, they called her over to take some pictures with them, and Jack took the pictures for them.

By the end of the morning, they had taken close to three-hundred pictures all put together.

"Who's hungry?" Cian asked. "There's a whole street of food vendors on the other side of the Park. That could be a feisty treat, don't ye think?" he asked.

Everyone agreed and followed Cian to the food. They all took something different, from hamburgers, to pizzas, hotdogs, etc.… and were happy to have a simple meal after the five course meals at the Palace. After that, they continued their exploring, doing some rides and having the time of their life.

Eliza was having fun too, but not as much as the boys. There were too many things going on in her mind to actually have fun. Like who was she going to choose? Who would be in her Elite? Would Andromeda make it to see her choice? And her wedding? And of course, she thought of Rafe and Linus, and of what else was going to happen before the end of the Selection. It had been almost three months, already, and her life had been turned upside down. She walked around the stores, rides, and Disney princesses without really seeing them.

The park was full of people – of course, it was Saturday – and Jack had trouble keeping up with her. Thank goodness he was tall enough to see her, but why were there so many Peter Pans?

"Are you okay?" someone said to Eliza/Peter Pan, making her jump from her thoughts. It was Kuzco/Raphael.

She smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

He walked in silence next to her trying to ignore his huge golden head piece. But at least, he didn't feel ridiculous amid the throng of costumed people. Butterflies roared in his stomach when their swinging hands brushed each other. He almost tripped on his own cape.

"So," he said, trying to think of something else. "Are you hungry? I saw a nice little tea-shop over there, in a Beauty-and-the-Beast kind of village- thing. I don't know how you call it."

Eliza chuckled. "Sure. Tea sounds nice. It'll help me digest that huge hamburger I ate."

Raphael laughed at that. "Okay, follow me." He grabbed her hand and they made a ninety degree turn down a small street and ended up in another parallel street to main Street. "It's right over there," he said, pointing to a nice little tea-room shop.

"Oh, wow, this is really cute," Eliza said stepping inside. One wall was covered with old books; the cups were all replicas of Chip and his brothers and sisters, and all tea pots were made to Mrs. Teapots' likeness. Eliza and Raphael sat near the window, and a waitress came to order their tea, not recognizing them in their costumes, too focused on her many costumers.

On each table, there was a red rose under a glass cloche, and in the alcoves in the wall, or even between the books, were some furniture characters, like Lumière or Big Ben, or Featherduster. When the waitress brought them their tea, Eliza and Raph drank in cups resembling Chip, and Eliza was actually expecting the cup to say "It tickles, moma!" but of course, it didn't.

Eliza sipped her tea, put the cup back on the table, closed her eyes, and sighed, content.

Raphael couldn't keep his eyes off her. He had never imagined he would have some private time with the Princess, away from everyone, that day.

"It's good to sit down for a bit," she finally said.

"Yeah. So," he tried. "Do you have any expectations for next week?"

Eliza met his hazel eyes. "I don't know. Maybe I don't want some crazy fiasco or something."

Raphael nodded. "I can totally see why. But then you're going to eliminate some of us, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm afraid I'll have to." She sighed. "That's the worst part of this whole thing, to be honest.

Raphael took her hand and ran his thumb on the back of it. It was so soft. "Well, you've done a good job at it, until now. I'm still here," he said, mischief lightening his gaze.

The redhead chuckled. "And you got shot for it."

Raphael didn't reply right away, but kept her hand in his. "And I would do it all again, if it came to that," he said softly. He was slowly leaning closer to her, not even noticing it. But Eliza had noticed, and did the same. She leaned in and at some point, the whole tea-room didn't exist anymore, and their lips touched. Raphael wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, but he was going to enjoy every second of their second kiss.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

"We lost sight of Peter Pan," Jack said to his earpiece. "I repeat, we lost sight of Peter Pan."

"Who's Peter Pan?" one of the guards replied.

"The princess, you idiot," Jack replied.

"Then you mean _YOU_ lost sight of the Princess, dickhead. She's _your_ job."

"Shup up, Murphy," Jack said angrily. "Bring back everyone to the meeting point. Now."

"Yessir," some of the guards replied, and Jack headed to the entrance, waiting for everyone to be back. It took fifteen minutes to have all the Selected on the spot, with their guards.

"What's going on?" Rance asked. "Why are we here, now?"

Murphy, one of the guards snorted. "Because Mister Jack, here, lost sight of Peter Pan."

"You've got to be kidding," Alek said. "She can't be that hard to follow."

"You'd be surprised how many Peter Pans there are, here." Jack replied, unamused.

"Then, let's go look for her," Sebastian said.

"Not a chance," Jack replied. "You guys are staying here with five guards. The others, on me. We're looking for Peter Pan."

"And Kuzco," Tomlin said, looking around. "Raph's not here either."

"What a selfish moron," Alek said. "I thought we were doing a group date."

"Yeah, well it turned out more of group date for us, than for her," Henryk said. "Unfortunately."

Jack rolled his eyes and left with seven other guards, while the boys waited in the sun with the five others. He had to find her, or he'd pay for it. And he knew he would pay the high price. Oliver wasn't very keen on letting the whole group go to Disneyland in the first place, so he must never know he lost sight of her in the crowd. _Ever_.

"Can you guys see her?" he asked the other guards spread out in the amusement park.

"Nope."

"No."

"No, sir."

Jack grunted. He looked everywhere in every little street, on every ride, and in every shop. A green outfit wasn't hard to see, nor was Kuzco's golden head piece, for Christ sake!

It had already been twenty minutes of searching when the magic words came through his ear piece.

"Found them," one of the guards said. He didn't care which one it was.

"Where?"

" _Beauty And The Beast_ Tea Room. Sitting by the window."

Jack sighed, relieved. He asked directions to someone and was shown the way to the little French village part of the park. And sure enough, when he arrived there, Peter Pan was kissing Kuzco. Something he would never unsee in his whole entire life. _Never_.

When the seven guards were reunited with Jack in the small street, he thanked them and sent them back to the other part of the group, telling them to resume the park's visit

And he waited outside. This time, he didn't leave the entrance out of his sight. He waited ten minutes for the princess and the red and gold guy to come out. Hand in hand, of course…

"Jack." Eliza was surprised to see him there, waiting. "You stayed there all along?"

"Mostly, yes," he replied. "How long are you planning to stay in the park?" he asked.

"I booked the fireworks session this evening, too," she said. "So you're stuck here, I'm afraid."

Just then, the whole group of guys appeared around the corner. Raphael tensed and quickly let go of Eliza's hand, but not before Alek, Seb, and Tomlin saw it.

"There you are," Sebastian said. "We were looking all over the place for you guys." He came over and slipped his arm in Eliza's arm and he and Alek pulled her away from Raphael, but not before Tomlin glared at Raph, mimicking a knife under his throat. Raphael frowned. If they didn't want him to spend time alone with Eliza, then they should have invited her along on their 'group date'…

The group of random Disney characters took Peter Pan away.

"Tough game," Jack commented to Raphael. "You're the Lieutenant, right?"

"Yeah," Raphael said, his shoulders slumping a little. He took off his golden head piece.

Jack snorted. "Navy?"

"Swiss Air Force," he corrected.

"Hmm," Jack said. "And she prefers Princes?"

"I hope not," Raphael said. "Hey, between two soldiers, can I ask you a favor?"

"It depends what it is…"

* * *

 _ **Whooo! I hope you all had fun reading this Disneyland chapter! I had fun writing it... can't wait to read your thoughts^^**_

 _ **So, last round of dates before the Elite starts next chapter... thanks for your ideas! for those who haven't sent any, I'll try to come up with something... and I know some of you won't be able to answer to the interviews, I'll also try to do those... but they might not be as good as if you had answered them^^ anyway...**_

 _ **don't forget to go check the Aesthetic board, because there are the costume visuals, and you'll want to see those... HAHAHA**_

 _ **see you soon!**_


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

Around two or three in the afternoon on Monday, Eliza had no idea who was going to be her first date. When a butler knocked on her door with a letter on a silver tray, Eliza was curious to see who it was from. She took the pistachio green envelope with a golden seal; her name was written in elegant black cursive and she quickly broke the seal and read the note inside.

 _"A beautiful succession of sounds."_

That was all it said. But she knew right away who it was from. Their first date had already been some kind of scavenger hunt throughout the Palace to find him waiting for her in the gardens.

"What do you have in mind this time, Cian?" she asked to no one in particular. She knew the riddle's answer, and went directly to the music room since the answer was _music_. Cian was not there, but another green envelope was waiting for her on the Grand Piano. She quickly opened it, smiling.

 _"There are seven pieces of the puzzle in envelopes hidden throughout the room. The result will lead you to our date place._

 _Ps: There were some technical issues, and I had to postpone the date a little, but here is my phone number if you need help finding the envelopes._

 _See you soon!"_

At the bottom was the phone number, but she decided to try to find them without help. She was a Princess, after all, she didn't need help. She started to look around the room and found the first one quite easily: it was on one of the music stands. She opened it and inside was only part of an image.

"Of course," she mumbled. "I need to find all of them."

So she continued her scavenger hunt. Eliza found another envelope taped to the door – that one was easy, too – and the third one under the piano bench. But she still had four to find. She could already guess the place with only three bits of the picture, but it wouldn't be fun if she didn't find the others…

It had been ages since she'd come to this room, to be honest. When was even the last time she had touched a musical instrument? Her last piano lesson must have been when she was thirteen. Or fourteen. It was just before she went to high school to be a _normal_ girl. How wrong she had been. She had been _normal_ until the end of her studies. But not anymore. It was like she had been given a very precious gift, and then someone had taken it back, without even asking her.

She walked along the wall and stopped in front of the shelves where all the music sheets were stored. She took one out, memories coming back one after the other. Not all necessarily good memories, though. Her piano teacher, Mr. Richmond, was very strict and demanding. Her mother would force her to play for a whole hour every single day. Thank goodness Andromeda had been there to cheer her up, and help her from time to time. She hated it. Millie was the musician in the family, she could play a tune by only hearing it. Eliza couldn't even read the left- and right-hand lines at the same time.

She put back the music sheet and pulled out another one. A green envelope fell out on the floor.

"Ha," she said. "Gotcha." Only three more to go.

Once she had finished looking over the music sheets with nostalgia, she went to look more seriously for the three envelopes left.

"They have to be somewhere," she mumbled. She went to the rack of guitars and ran her fingers on the strings. One of the guitars sounded different, and it turned out there was an envelope inside. So she went looking in the other instruments around the room. One was in the harp, intertwined in the strings – how had she not seen it sooner? – and the last one was inside the piano.

She took out all the pieces of the puzzle and put them together, making sure her guess was true. And it was. She took the envelopes with her and headed to the _Report_ room. The picture showed the _Report_ stage. What on earth were they going to do there?

Jack was on her heels, as usual, but he was silent enough for her to forget about him being there. She pushed the door opened, and Cian was sitting on the floor, his feet dangling from the stage, strumming on his guitar. So were a photographer from the _Illéa Weekly_ team with a journalist, who were going to follow the whole week of dates.

"Ah! There ye are!" he said, standing up. "I thought ye'd never come. Did ye get lost or somethin'?"

Eliza laughed. "No, but I couldn't find your envelopes, and I have to admit I was kind of lost in my thoughts at some point." She paused. "Going through the music sheets got me all nostalgic." She snorted. "I don't know why since piano lessons when I was a girl were awful."

"That bad, huh?" he asked.

"My teacher was awful. Anyway. What are we doing here?"

Cian put his guitar down and want to a computer he had connected to another piece of the _Report_ stage. "Karaoke."

"Oh, my God," Eliza said. "I can't even sing!"

"Aye, ye can," he said. "Everyone can. Come on!" He showed her the list of songs he had on his program. "So, shall we do one together, or should I start alone?"

"I think you should start," she said, stepping down the stage to go sit in the Audience.

"Oh, no, ye canna do that," he said. "Ye canna go in the audience seats."

"Why not?"

"Because ye're staying with me, lass," he said, winking at her.

"Okay, fine. Just don't make me sing."

Cian chuckled. "Ye wish." He chose a song and pushed the play button. He had already prepared two microphones for them to sing, and he picked one, waited for the words to pop on the screen – he had his back turned on the audience seats to look at the big screen – and started singing.

Eliza quickly decided that she loved his voice. It was rusty and grave, and melodious at the same time. Had she already heard him sing? Maybe, but she couldn't remember when. One thing she was sure of was that she loved the sound. She wasn't really listening to the words, though, only focusing on the music.

When he was done, he joined her on the side of the stage and smiled.

"Wow, that was amazing," she said. "I didn't know you could sing that well."

"Och," he said. "That wasn't much, really. I like singing, but I'm no expert."

"Uh, you are."

"If ye say so," he said. "Ye're turn, now."

"Do I really have to?" she asked, pleading.

"Aye. It's part of the date. Come on, we can choose an easy song if ye like."

Eliza nodded and followed Cian to the computer. She went for a Disney song, one she knew well and that didn't go too high up. It was from the movie _Moana_.

She waited for the first few chords to start, then started singing. In a very low voice – because going after Cian was suicide – she mumbled the first few words.

 _I've been staring at the edge of the water_

 _Long as I can remember, never really knowing why._

To help her sing louder and be more confidently – especially with the camera and journalist there –, Cian stood next to her and sang, too. The same voice, at first, and then he modulated in a second voice, both melodies perfectly synced. Eliza grew more confident by the second, and by the third verse, they were both singing at the top of their lungs.

 _I can lead with pride, I can make us strong,_

 _I'll be satisfied if I play along_

 _But the voice inside sings a different song_

 _What is wrong with me?_

They continued singing on, and then the song was over. Eliza was grinning like an idiot. "Wow, that was awesome. Okay, I admit it."

"See?" Cian said. "And ye're really good!"

"Yeah, well…" she trailed off. "I used to sing that song in the shower a lot." She chuckled, ashamed.

"Why?" Cian asked. "I mean, not why you sing in the shower, but why this song?"

Eliza shrugged. "I don' know. I guess I just easily relate to her."

Cian smiled. "I get that. So, another one?" he asked, and Eliza nodded. They ended up singing songs until it was time to go get changed for dinner.

At the end of the date, and before they walked out of the _Report_ room, Cian gave her a purple potted hyacinth, asking her to forgive his ' _awful'_ singing.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked. "You have an amazing voice."

Cian shrugged. "Aye, well, I needed an excuse to give ye this." They both laughed and Eliza thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. She promised him to take great care of the plant and to try not to let it die.

Eliza went her way, while the _Illéa Weekly_ journalist had a few questions for Cian. Each one would be interviewed after their date.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Before heading to her room, she went to see Pebbles and her six kittens, to see if they were okay. Their bowl was full of fancy kibble, along with water, for Mistress Pebbles. The kittens were still on a milk diet.

"Hello, my little cuties," Eliza said, sitting down on the floor. "I don't have much time, but I just want to see if you're okay." She patted Pebbles on the head but didn't touch the kittens yet. They were still too young. After staying a few minutes with them, she headed to her room, where Samantha had already taken out an outfit for her. A midnight blue dress with silver shoes, and matching jewelry.

"What's the occasion?" she asked skeptically.

"Just the _Illéa Weekly_ lurking around every corner, ready to take a picture of you and the guys, this week," Sam replied. "So I thought you'd better be prepared."

"Huh. I thought they were only there for the dates."

"Oh, yes. But they're staying at the Palace during the six days, and so I figured you'd want to show a nice image of you."

Eliza rolled her eyes. As much as Sam was right about that, she didn't want to be dressed like a Disney Princess every single day. Pants, flats, and pockets were much handier than gowns. But oh well… She could do that for six days.

She went down for dinner, meeting Sebastian unexpectedly in the stairs. He was wearing a nice navy-blue suit with a grey tie and brown Italian leather shoes.

"Wow, Your Highness," he said, bowing to the Princess with a charming smile. "You look absolutely divine, tonight."

"Thanks," she replied with a small smile. "But you can drop the formalities."

"Oh, come on," he said, offering her his arm. "I need to step up my game, now."

"Do you, now?" She chuckled.

"Yes, I do." He smiled slyly at the beautiful young woman at his arm. "And I wasn't joking when I said you looked divine." He looked straight ahead because if he looked at her one more time, he would kiss her on the spot. Should he, though?

They walked down the stairs to the dining room, and the _Illéa Weekly_ team was waiting down there. They snapped a picture of them, under Jade Reese's orders.

"Your Highness," she said, walking over the couple. "What a delightful pleasure to see you again." She curtsied.

"Jade, what a pleasant surprise," Eliza said. "I didn't know the Magazine Editor herself would come for the week."

"Are you kidding?" she asked. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. They can do without me for a few days." She laughed. "Oh my God, Ruby!" the woman said, seeing Ruby coming out for dinner.

Seb and Eliza quickly slipped away to the dining room.

"It's gonna be crowded tonight," Seb remarked.

"You mean the whole week." She snorted. "This is turning into a reality TV show."

"It's a magazine," he corrected.

"Same thing."

He walked her to her seat, at the head table, and then went to his own.

"You two are wearing matching outfits," Andromeda whispered to Eliza. "It will definitely be a nice photo for the Magazine."

Eliza chuckled. "Tell me about it."

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

When Eliza received her dessert dish, there was a little note with it, from her date for the evening.

 _Please meet me after dinner in the Purple Salon, wearing clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Hans._

Eliza chuckled and folded the piece of paper. She ate her dessert, wondering what on earth they would be doing in the purple salon getting their clothes dirty. As soon as dinner was over, she quickly headed to her room, ignoring everyone. She put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with an old pair of sneakers and headed to the purple salon. Hans was waiting just outside, his hands in his pockets, lost in thought.

"Hi!" Eliza said. "I'm ready."

" _Gut_ ," he said. "Come inside."

Inside the purple room, of course, the _Illéa Weekly_ team was waiting, ready to snap away pictures. Once Eliza had gotten used to them being there, she looked around. All the furniture had been covered with white sheets, and on the floor were several white canvases, bottles of paint on the side, and paintbrushes everywhere.

"Tonight, we paint," Hans offered.

Eliza grinned. "That's actually an amazing idea," she said. "I haven't painted anything since I was in middle school."

"Pick a canvas," he said, "and _zen_ just paint."

Hans waited for her to take her pick on the canvas and the colors and then settled down on another one, with mostly grays, and some yellow. Of course.

While Hans went for birch trees on a grey and yellow background, Eliza went much crazier with pinks, greens, blues, yellows, and black, creating some kind of rainbow-ish sunset. She just put the colors on the canvas, directly from the tubes, and then spread it with her paintbrushes.

They didn't speak much, both fully focused on their work, and the _Illéa Weekly_ team got bored after snapping some pictures. They left the room, saying they would come back at the end of the date to take pictures of the finished paintings. And to have their interview with the German selected.

"Damn, I thought they'd never go away," Eliza mumbled.

Hans chuckled. "It is hard to _conzenträte_ when people _vatching_ you."

"That it is," she agreed, before looking at his painting. "Do you always paint with these colors? Grey and yellow?"

"Most of _ze_ time, _ja_."

"Why?"

Hans shrugged. How do you explain Itten's color theory in English? "Uhm, I like black, _und_ grey, _und_ yellow _ist_ _ze_ most… uhm… light? Color?"

"The brightest?"

" _Ja_. _Ze_ Brightest. Und it is a good, uhm, _Kontrast_."

"Contrast, yes," she said. "So, you use the lighting contrast, in your paintings?"

Hans nodded. " _Ja_. It is my favorite."

What he didn't say, though, was that he liked the color yellow – or more precisely the yellow paint – and liked to eat it, from time to time, thinking it could brighten him from the inside. Besides. What's one more harmful substance in your body? Right?

They were silent for another while, both painting their canvases. When they were both done, they put them against a couch, looking at them from afar.

"I really like yours, Hans," she said. "There is so much reality in it, and yet, it's completely abstract."

He smiled a little. "Thank you. I am never _zatisfied_ with my paints."

"Artists are seldom satisfied with their work," she said.

"I like yours," he added. "How do you paint something with so full life?" He paused. "My trees look died."

"No, they don't. They look pretty real to me." She looked around and noticed another big canvas laying on the ground on the side. "Hey, do you want to make another one? And we do it together?"

Hans looked at the blank canvas on the floor, calling to him. "Sure, why not," he replied, shrugging.

They stood on either side of the large canvas on the floor and Eliza suggested they do something funny, like throwing paint on it. So one after the other, they dipped their paintbrushes in somewhat liquid paint, and then threw the paint against the canvas. Hans was just across from Eliza, and he got completely sprayed with green paint.

"Oh! Oops! I'm so sorry!" she said, a grin on her face. She hadn't done it on purpose, but now that she saw it, it was quite funny.

"You want to play _zat_?" he asked. He dipped his brush in yellow paint, and sprayed it over the canvas… and Eliza. They both laughed and continued spraying the canvas and each other with paint. They were laughing loudly when the _Illéa Weekly_ team came strolling back in, curious about the laughing. Thank goodness the furniture was protected, because all the white sheet were covered in drops and lines of paint. Their clothes were covered in paint, too, and even the camera was painted.

Everyone froze, not sure of what the photographer would say…

"Oops, sorry," Eliza said.

"Hmph," he replied, eyeing his ruined camera. "We'll be waiting outside."

"Wait, did you get pictures?" the other one asked.

"Yes." They both walked out, waiting for the royals to finish.

But to be honest, it had kind of threw off their momentum. They both stared at their piece of art.

"How much do you think we can sell this?" Eliza asked.

Hans shrugged. "I don't know. I never sell my art."

"Imagine, though," she continued. " _Abstract painting by The Princess and the German Earl."_

Hans walked around the large canvas on the floor. "With _zis_ size, it can be between eight thousand and twelve thousand dollars."

"What? That few? I was more thinking in millions. We could sell it and donate the money to a charity or something."

Hans shrugged again. "We can try if you _vant_."

Eliza nodded. "I'll see if I can have an expert come over, and it could be sold in an auction sale."

"A what?" he asked, not familiar with the English word.

"You know, when people offer prices, and it is sold to the one willing to pay the highest price?"

"Oooh, _Auktion_ , _Ja_. We can try."

Eliza nodded. "Yeah, we'll do that." They put up the big canvas next to the two smaller ones and contemplated their work. "Well, tonight was productive. And fun," she added, smiling.

" _Ja_ , it was."

"Thanks," she said. Without saying anything else, they started to put away the paint, the brushes, and everything, and Eliza was scared to see some paint on the waxed parquet floor.

"Don't _vorry_ ," Hans said. "It is water paint. It'll go away."

"Oh, good."

A few minutes later, they were done, and Eliza thanked him again and took her painting with her back to her room. The _Illéa Weekly_ team kept Hans for a few more minutes for the mandatory interview.

* * *

 _ **Heeyyy... so here goes, the first two dates, Cian and Hans. Thanks,**_ ChillyIce _ **for the great Karaoke-date idea! I hope you enjoyed it ;)**_

 _ **Also, I can't believe the next chapter is already number 50! how did that happen?! And don't forget to go check the aesthetic section for this chapter ;) **_

_**Don't forget your interviews, if you haven't done them already ;) I'm writing faster then expected, soooo. but in other words, I met my 20k word goal during Camp Nano, so I guess that's cool ;)**_

 _ **See you soon in the next chapter!**_


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

When Eliza woke up, it was raining outside. She checked the weather forecast on her phone and realized it would be raining all day long. She just hoped the two dates wouldn't involve being outside. She got ready for breakfast, and noticed how everyone was pretty gloomy and sad. Thank you, rain.

After breakfast, the selected all headed to the Men's Parlor with Henri, and Eliza wondered what they would be doing. Hadn't they all been through everything they needed to know if they became Consort? Then again, it always took years for someone to prepare to be a ruler. But they were all Princes. Well, most of them, anyway.

 _They're Spares. They never learned to be a ruler_ , a little voice reminded her. True. But they still had some sense of the load of work it would be, right? Well, it wasn't as if her mother did a lot, besides charity work – when was the last time she had done something? – or showing up as a guest to different events? By now, it was Millie and her doing all the work. Elinor didn't really do anything anymore, besides having her nails done, and whatever she was doing during the day…

Eliza had work to do. The King had asked her to come to the office to discuss some things, and so that's where she was heading, her heels – unfortunately not sneakers – clicking on the marble floor.

As soon as the footman saw her, he let her inside, unannounced. The King must really be in a hurry to get things done.

"Ah, there you are," he said, putting his glasses down. "Please, sit down."

Eliza obeyed, and waited.

"I know the Selection is slowly, but surely, getting to an end and that you're going to choose your Elite at the end of the week, so I thought I'd get a head start on that." He gave her a pile of documents.

"What's this?" she asked, eyeing the yellow folders suspiciously.

"The Selected, of course," he replied. "There is a pro and con list for each of them and why and alliance with their country would be in favor of Illéa."

Eliza didn't take the folders. "You're kidding right?"

"No. Why would I be?"

"This is _my_ Selection. I marry for love. If I do."

Oliver put the twelve files on his desk, because they were getting heavy. "You do both," he said. "You marry to benefit Illéa, and if it works out, for Love."

"But you have Millie to marry off for Illéa's benefit! And you're already getting an alliance with the Iranian Empire. What more do you want?" she asked, not expecting an answer to that.

"Well," Oliver started. "Each remaining country has its own perks, but some have more than others. For example, France has incredible Tech that we could use here. Germany has beer. So does Poland. Russia, well, that's a bit more complicated, since they're on New Asia's side in the war, and we're not."

"We're not?" she asked. "I thought we didn't take sides for now."

"Officially, no."

"And unofficially?" she asked.

"We're with Australia, who is on Mongolia's side."

"And since when are we with Australia?"

"Since I had to make an agreement for the first guy who left. Remember him? Well, the deal was that if he went home to his family without anyone dying, I would side up with Australia."

"That's insane," Eliza said. "Why would you do such a thing? You didn't even know the guy."

"I hate blackmail," Oliver said. "But sometimes you have to use it."

"Yeah, like you did with me." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "You told me I could go to school and College, and then I'd have to be the 'princess'." She sighed heavily, trying not to yell at her father. "You gave me college, and then took everything away, and now you're trying to do the Selection in my place."

"That's not true," he said, on the defensive.

"Then what's that?" she asked, pointing at the twelve files on the desk. "If that's not you trying to take over my Selection, then I don't know what it is."

"I just want to help," he said. "I know you have favorites, but you still have to keep the big picture in mind. Do what's best for Illéa."

Eliza scoffed. " _Doing what's best for Illéa._ Since when do you do that?"

"I've always done that," he said, frowning. "I've always put our country first. And that's why your mother and I kind of… disconnected at some point. I didn't take the time for our couple, or for our family…" he paused, looking at his hands in his lap.

"What are you saying, dad?" Eliza asked.

"Nothing," Oliver replied. "All I'm saying is that when you're King – or Queen – of a country, you have to make sacrifices. You need to put your country first. You always come second."

Eliza sighed. Of course, she already knew that. But she didn't want to go down that road. First, she wasn't Queen yet. Second, she still had ten dates to do.

"You know what? Thanks for the files. But I'm not going to read them until I'm done with the dates. I don't want to be biased. I'll take a look at the end." Maybe.

"Okay, fine," Oliver said.

"And I'm leaving them here in the meantime."

Oliver sighed. "Okay." He took out another file. "I want you to go avec this report, too, this morning. It's about your alliances, money support and all that." He paused. "When was the last time you read a weekly report?"

Eliza grimaced. "I don't even know."

"Exactly. This is last week's, and I want you to be up to date with everything that's been happening lately."

She took the file. "I know what's happening."

"Yeah, you know what you can find on twitter and in newspapers. But this is a little bit more into details…"

"Fine." She stood and headed to her own office, just a couple of doors down the hall and went to work. She didn't see the time go by, to be honest. Not that it was super interesting or anything, but it was important. Soon, she would be doing that all on her own, all the time. Everyday.

She thought again about what her father had just said. About sacrifice. About not having time for her couple, or family. Should she really choose someone who would be good at this 'consort' job, and who would benefit Illéa? Or should she follow her heart?

Honestly, she had no idea.

But first, she had to go through those dates.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

After lunch, she went to her room to change into something more comfortable for her date, not knowing yet what it was going to be, nor with whom. She put on a comfortable burgundy skirt with a striped t-shirt and black pumps. She also quickly pulled her hair in a twisted low ponytail, and took off some of the heavy make-up she had to wear all morning. She wanted to be natural, herself.

At around two o'clock, the knock on her door made her jump from her lost-in-her-thoughts phase, and she quickly went to open it.

"Latreall!" she exclaimed, happy to see him.

"Hey," he said, his hands in his pockets. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Where are we going? Am I too overdressed?"

Latreall shook his head. "No, you look perfect."

Eliza chuckled. "Thanks. You look nice too."

"Oh, pssssh," he said, denying. "I'm not even wearing a suit. I'm the one who's underdressed, here. But it doesn't matter. Come on," he said, offering her his hand, which she took. They walked along the corridor, down the stairs, and down again, all the way to the kitchens.

Latreall pushed the door opened and the cooking team stopped what they were doing and bowed to the royals who had just entered. Then, the head chef came over and told them their area was ready, and assigned them one of the kitchen maids to assist them in case they needed anything.

"Thanks," Latreall said. They walked to their 'area' and Eliza noticed ingredients and utensils already out.

"Everything seems to be ready," she said. "What are we baking?"

Latreall smirked. "You'll see." He took the recipe and started giving some instructions to Eliza – how much flour, salt, butter, cinnamon, eggs, etc. – and they started baking.

"Oh my, God," Eliza said, after spreading the dough and putting sugar, cinnamon, and butter. "Are we making cinnamon rolls?"

"Yes, we are," Latreall replied with a smirk.

"Aw yessss," Eliza said, grinning. They continued working and when the rolls were done and put in a pan to go in the over, they started making the white stuff that would go on it. It took much less time than the actual oven baking, so they started taking funny pictures of them, of drawings they did with their fingers in the flour, and so on.

"Hey, are you guys still doing that Selection YouTube Channel?"

Latreall laughed. "No, not really. To be honest, we kind of forgot about it. And with all that happened these past few weeks, I'm not sure it would have been a good idea to brag about the Selection."

"True," she said.

"But I might talk to the guys about it, though. Maybe we could go back to it, you know? Like with the new kittens, or some random stuff, not too much related to the Selection. Seb's the creator of the channel. I should see with him."

Eliza looked for the channel on YouTube on her phone, and they watched the videos that were online. There weren't many, but the ones that were there, were funny. Like the one where Rafe tripped and spilled the lemonade on Millie? That one had millions of vues, and hundreds of comments. It was also bittersweet to watch it. They all missed Rafe.

When the timer went off, telling them that the rolls were baked, Latreall put on some oven mittens and took the pan out. Cinnamon and buttery smells rose in the air, and Eliza closed her eyes in delight, smelling the best smell in the world. But it also brought some heartbreaking memories, too, since she would always eat cinnamon rolls with Linus, back in College, and even here, when they came back.

But she pushed the feeling away, wanting to make the most of her date. She didn't need unwelcome negative feelings at the moment.

They waited for the rolls to cool down a little before coating them with the white sugary coat.

Once it was done, and they were ready to be eaten, Latreall suggested they arrange them nicely in a plate.

"Do you have Instagram?" he asked. "This could be a pretty nice picture to post…"

The princess chuckled. "I had an account, when I was a teenager. But it's not active anymore." She shrugged. "The only social media I have is Twitter. But I'm not posting a picture of cinnamon rolls."

"Why not? Don't you want people to get to know you better? With all that's going on?"

"No, I'm not sure that would be a good idea. But I will take a picture for my personal collection, though."

"You still do selfies with your dates?" Lat asked, a sly grin on his face.

"Uhm, I totally forgot about that," Eliza replied. "I don't even remember the last time I did that. We should totally do one now."

And so they did, after she took a picture of the aesthetically pleasing cinnamon roll plate. After that, Latreall took the plate – Eliza couldn't eat the treats yet – and he led her to a room where he had set an entire cinema, with pillows, blankets, drinks, candy, popcorn, and everything. And then he put the plate on a high pillow.

"OOoh," Eliza said, taking it all in. "What are we watching?"

Latreall cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. "Okay, don't judge me." He took the DVD box on that was on the couch and handed it to her, not making eye contact.

Eliza burst out laughing. "Seriously? _Mean Girls_?"

"I said not to judge me," he said on the defensive.

"I'm not judging," she replied. "I just find it funny. Why this movie?"

Latreall sat on a large pillow and took another one to put on his lap, so he could hold it tightly during the movie. "I figured since it may be my last chance at convincing you to keep me in your Selection for your final choice, I might as well reveal one of my deepest, darkest secrets…" He chuckled and looked up at the redhead, still standing. "I love this movie, and I wanted to share it with you."

Eliza kicked her shoes away and sat next to the Spanish Prince, also taking a pillow on her lap for more comfort. "That's an excellent idea," she said. "Besides, I haven't seen this movie in years, and it'll be a great distraction." She paused. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Two things, actually. First, this stays between us, and it is never mentioned to anyone."

Latreall nodded, making a zipping motion over his lips. "And the second?"

Eliza grinned slyly. "On Wednesday we–"

"We wear pink!" he completed the sentence.

Eliza laughed and said yes.

"Okay, deal," he replied, holding out his hand for her to shake it. She did, he pressed play on the remote control, and she took a bite into her first cinnamon roll of the afternoon. Between the two of them, they finished the whole plate of cinnamon rolls, knowing well enough that she wouldn't have a single tiny space in her belly for dinner that evening. They laughed, repeated the words with the movie, ate and drank, and they had the most amazing time together.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

After dinner – after pushing around the food in her plate and nibbling on some things to pretend she was eating – she went back to her room, wondering what the date that evening would be and with whom it was going to be. The first thing she saw when stepping in was the big bundle on her bed, tied with a blue ribbon. She kicked her heels off and opened the present.

In it was a plush white bath robe, some comfy and soft slippers, a couple candles, and some bath salts. On top of everything was a note.

 _Meet me in by the Jacuzzi. And bring all of this._

 _–H._

 _H?_ Eliza had to think for a few seconds. It couldn't be Hans, since they already had their date the previous day, so it could only be Henryk. She smiled and stripped down do a comfy pair of tiny shorts and a tank top, and wrapped her new robe around her. She also slipped on her new soft slippers, and took the candles and bath salts in her robe pockets. She decided to take the elevator, so she wouldn't run into anyone dressed like this.

But of course, then she remembered the _Illéa Weekly_ crew would be there, like they had been for the baking part. Thank goodness they had left before they had started their movie.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator, on the floor below ground, she noticed the rose petals scattered on the floor, showing the way to the indoor pool. She followed the trail and found Henryk waiting, sitting on the side of the pool, his good leg dangling in the water and the one in the cast laying on the side of the pool.

"Hey, there you are," he said struggling to get up with one crutch that was lying next to him.

"Here, let me help you," Eliza said, coming over. Of course, the _Illéa Weekly_ photographer didn't miss that. _The Princess who's ready to help others._

"Thanks," he said, a little embarrassed. "So, I see you found my present," he said, motioning at her robe. He was wearing an identical one, with the same slippers, too.

"Yeah," she replied. "I hadn't had a new robe in ages, and it's sooo soft! Thank you so much!"

Henryk smiled. "So, Princess, ready to get to some relaxing?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Good. Because since I have a broken leg and all that, I can't really take you ziplining or anything." He shrugged.

"Relaxing is perfect. It's exactly what I need right now."

"Okay," he said. "So, for starters, since I can't get in the water without putting a plastic bag over my cast, I suggest we skip the bath part. You can use the bath salts on your own, once." He paused. "Or for a romantic bath with someone…" he grinned slyly and winked.

Eliza rolled her eyes and chuckled. "So, what are we doing, now?"

Henryk wobbled on his crutches, heading to a side room. "Follow me." Eliza obeyed and they entered a room all lit only by candles, with some soft lounge music going on in the background, and two beds in the middle, side by side, but still with some room to go around each. The photographer took lots of pictures of the place, probably thinking Henryk was super romantic and all.

Two Asian ladies came out from a door, and asked the two robed people to lay down on the beds, on their bellies. They obeyed, and the ladies started massaging them with oil, and Eliza thought she was in heaven. The last time she had a spa moment was just before the Introduction Ball, when Millie was still the nice little sister. Honestly, that felt like so long ago. A whole lifetime ago. But in truth, it had been only almost three months.

"You okay?" Henryk suddenly asked. Eliza was so silent.

"Yeah," she replied. "Just trying to figure out when was the last time I did something like this." She chuckled.

"Well, it's my first time," he said.

"Really?" Eliza said, surprised, looking at him. "And how are you finding it, so far?"

"Pretty cool."

"You bet…" She grinned, and went back to closing her eyes to relax.

"You know," Henryk said after a little while. He had been watching her the whole time. "You look pretty happy right now."

She opened an eye. "What does that mean? I'm usually sad?"

"No. It's just that, sometimes, you look stressed, or with lots on your mind. But not now." He smiled at her.

She didn't reply right away, trying to process that. She thought she was hiding her stress and agony well. Apparently, not.

"And you look beautiful when you're happy," he added, softly.

This time, Eliza went read in the face. People usually told her she was beautiful when she was wearing a nice gown or something. But saying that she was beautiful because she was happy was something new. Was she happy, though? After all that went down, recently?

"Thanks," she blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

Just then, the masseuses asked them to flip over and lay on their backs. It was complicated for Henryk with the cast and all, but he managed. They put on some creamy white stuff on their faces, and topped that with cucumber slices on their eyes. Eliza giggled.

"What?" Henryk asked.

"I just wish I could see you right now, with the cucumbers and all." Again, she laughed, imagining him.

He laughed too, and he asked one of the masseuses to take pictures of them with his phone.

"I'll text them to you later," he said.

"Thanks."

They fell into a comfortable silence, letting the ladies to their jobs. They massaged their shoulders, arms, legs, feet and hands, while the mask kept their faces wet and fresh. After that, they took the mask off, and looked at the pictures. They had a good laugh out of it.

"I'm definitely putting those pictures in my collection," she said.

Henryk chuckled. "I'll keep them preciously, too."

The two ladies bid them good night and Henryk and Eliza were left alone. Even the _Illéa Weekly_ team had grown bored of their spa night. They had snapped a few pictures and then left, waiting for Henryk to come out for the interview.

They talked a bit more, their legs dangling over the water of the Jacuzzi, until both were yawning, almost breaking off their jaws. Massages and relaxing were somewhat exhausting, and they both headed to their rooms for the night, after Eliza thanked him and bid him good night with a kiss on his cheek. He kissed her hand in a grand gentlemanly gesture and went to bed.

* * *

 _ **Hiiii! sorry it took so long to write this chapter. but after camp nano, I didn't want to write for a few days... anyway, I have no excuse! I hope you liked this chapter and the dates! Who do you like best so far? Cian, Hans, Latreall, or Henryk?**_

 _ **Anyway, also, I'm sorry if there are typos, I changed computers for a few weeks** (mine is going for repair) **and I don't have Grammarly anymore** (and I couldn't download it on this one...) **.**_

 _ **Anyway, dont forget the interviews, and don't forget to go check the Aesthetic section for this chapter, too! See you soon!**_


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

Wednesday morning was like every other morning in that week: work in her office, after her father had given her more files and reports to read. She also talked a bit with the _Illéa_ _Weekly_ Crew and Jade Reese herself, talking about her Selection, how she felt about it, and what were some highs and lows about it. Of course, the whole interview would be in the Special Edition, along with the dates, and the boys' interviews.

Time went by pretty fast, and she joined the others for lunch, which was served outside, in the garden, under the shades of the trees. It was still warm for a September day, and they wanted to enjoy every moment outside until they couldn't anymore.

Eliza was eating at the boy's table.

"So, who's it going to be today?" she asked, forking some food into her mouth.

"No idea," Nikolai said. "I just know when my time is up."

Eliza snorted. "As if it was the end of the world."

"More like his death sentence," Tom said, chuckling. "In case you hadn't noticed, Niko isn't very into ladies, at the moment."

At those words, Niko's cheeks and ears went bright pink. "Please don't tell my mother," he said, not looking at anyone. "She'd kill me. Or disown me. Or both."

Jericho laughed lightly and nudged him in the ribs. "She couldn't. Because you'd be in the Oceanic Nation with me."

Nikolai offered him a tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Thanks. But she would still find me."

"Just stay in Illéa, then," Raphael suggested. "Or come on neutral ground, in Switzerland."

Niko nodded. He would have to think about what to do if he was honest with himself. He couldn't just go back home, striding in the Palace and hope to live. There was no way. Besides, this brother wasn't even there, anymore. He'd rather live away from home – could he still call it _home_? – where the memory of his dead brother lingered in every corner, and stay in another country, where he could start over.

Around him, conversations had continued, but he completely had tuned them out. Until he felt Jericho's hand on his knee, squeezing in sympathy. Niko offered him a quick smile and continued eating.

When dessert came – it was some kind of small purple blueberry tiny cakes – they all asked for more. It was one of the best desserts they had had since the beginning of the Selection, and the Chef said it was a new recipe he wanted to try. Eliza asked him to put that on the Royal menu, as something to do regularly.

After lunch, they all lingered outside, walking barefoot in the perfectly cut lawn, some dribbling soccer balls, others their feet in the swimming pool, and others still lounging on deck chairs.

Eliza was in the middle of a conversation with Tom, Seb, and Raphael, when Alek walked towards them.

"Mind if I steal the Princess from you guys?" he asked. It wasn't really a question he was waiting for an answer to. He held out his hand for Eliza and she took it.

"Of course." She grinned at him. And followed him back inside. "So, where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, before we go anywhere, you might want to change into something more comfortable, something you won't mind getting a little dirty."

"Huh," she said. "Okay, I'll be right back, then." She quickly went to her room and changed into a mid-thigh pair of jeans shorts, a striped three-quarter sleeve top, and black converse shoes. She pulled her hair into a messy bun at the top of her head and called it a day. She met with him in the entrance hall, where he was waiting for her. He had also changed into a pair of military green shorts, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and some loafers.

"Ready?" he asked, seeing her coming. "You look good, by the way," he added with a smirk.

"Thanks. But you said something to get dirty in. Not something fancy."

"So? You look good in pretty much everything." He winked and they went outside, where a car was waiting for them. Apart from Jack who was waiting outside, there was no driver. Alek opened the door to the passenger seat, inviting Eliza to sit up front with him. Alek would be driving, and Jack would sit in the back seat. He mostly kept to himself and to his phone, because as much as his job demanded it, he really felt like the third wheel. Which he obviously was. While Alek and Eliza talked together, trying to ignore him, he tuned out and watched through the window as the scenery went by.

"I can't believe you're not telling me where we're going," Eliza said. She had tried to pry the information out of Alek since the moment he turned the engine on and they left the Palace.

"Yeah, well, I like to surprise you. Remember when we went to Swendway and you let me show you around without telling you in advance where we were going?"

"But that's not the same," she replied, pouting playfully. "This is Illéa. I'm not playing tourist here."

Alek chuckled. "We are, today." He grinned and continued driving, his eyes on the road.

Eliza was staring at his profile, deciding that he was really handsome. Could it be him, the One she chose at the end? _Stop it,_ she chided herself _. You're not even half through the dates, yet._

They drove in relaxed silence until Eliza turned the radio on to get some music. It didn't last long because they arrived at their destination. Eliza had no idea where they were, to be honest. There was a white picket fence along the road they had driven and at the end of the small dirt road a big red fancy Barn. Behind it there seemed to be lots of trees. On the side of the farmhouse was an apple-shaped sign.

" _Red Apple Farm_?" Eliza read. She raised a curious eyebrow.

Alek grinned. "Ever been apple picking before?"

Eliza laughed. "No. My parents had other things to do I guess, when we were little." She looked at the beautiful red building. "And besides. I always thought apple picking was only in romcoms."

At that, Alek laughed goodheartedly and took the Princess' hand in his. "Come on, then. Let's go pick us some apples." They walked toward the entrance. "And I told the Chef at the Palace that we would be bringing loads of apples back. Be prepared to eat lots of pies, and apple things in the next few days and weeks."

Eliza chuckled. "I hope they can freeze some of it. My mom hates to eat always the same thing."

Alek rolled his eyes. "Well, she'll just have to eat what she's given."

"Good luck with that," she replied just as the lady welcomed them in. She gave them a wooden cart with several baskets and crates to fill with apples on their way to the orchard. Eliza pulled the cart, first, claiming that she wasn't sure she could do it when it was full. The _Illéa Weekly_ Crew was following behind, trying to stay inconspicuous.

Alek and Eliza walked to the other side of the orchard, where there were fewer people, and started filling their crates and baskets with red apples. The apples on the lowest branches were the easiest to pick, but it was not really fun. A ladder was resting against one of the nearby trees, and they went to that one. Eliza went up first, sat on a thick branch near the central trunk, and Alek followed soon after with an empty basket to fill with the highest apples they could reach.

Jack had admonished them not to sit on thin branches and to be careful. He didn't really want to spend the rest of the day in the Hospital with either one of them.

As the basket was filled with apples, Alek took pictures with his phone of Eliza's happy smile and the red halo of hair. The sunrays were coming through the leaves, making really nice shadowy patterns on them, and he didn't want to miss that. They took selfies, took pictures of each other, ate as many apples as they could, and mostly stayed in that tree. At some point, there were no more apples in their reach, without it being too dangerous to go higher.

Eliza munched on her fourth apple, her feet dangling in the air. "You know," she said, her mouth half full. "I'm not sure I'll be able to eat or look at any more apples, after today."

Alek chuckled. "True," he replied, finishing his fifth apple.

"Your Highnesses?" Jack called from below. "If you want to be on time back at the Palace, we should start heading out, now."

Alek and Eliza shared an annoyed glance. "What a killjoy," Alek muttered. "Will be down in a minute!" he called back to Jack. "Before we go," he said to Eliza so Jack couldn't hear, "there's just one more thing I'd like to do." He grinned slyly.

"And what's that?"

He raised a cocky eyebrow and leaned over to kiss the beautiful girl in the tree with him.

Eliza smiled and was about to accept the kiss arms open wide – so to speak – but Alek's branch cracked under his shifted weight and he froze mid-fall. He tried to grip something solid – preferably not Eliza, or she would fall, too – but he didn't find anything and landed on his feet in the grass, below. He broke the fall with a little roll, and ended laying on the ground. Laughing.

"Oh, my God, are you okay?" Eliza asked, scrambling down the tree on the ladder and kneeling next to Alek on the ground. "Please say something, are you okay?"

Alek continued to laugh. "Yeah," he managed to say. "I'm fine." He grinned at the Princess. "Where were we?"

Eliza smirked, shook her head – noticed everyone around staring at them, but screw everyone – and leaned down to kiss him. It was like coming home. This was not their first kiss, and his lips were becoming familiar. But she was the first one to break the kiss. Time was running short and they needed to head home. She offered him her hand and helped him up.

"Are you sure you're okay? You're not hurt anywhere?" she asked again, looking him all over.

"I'm fine, I promise." He smiled, liking the attention.

Jack rolled his eyes and started to walk away, making an example. The _Illéa Weekly_ Crew stayed behind a little to snap pictures of Alek and Eliza walking arm in arm, pulling the heavy cart full of apples behind them. Now, this was good content for the Magazine. Jade Reese would be pleased to see those photos.

They paid for the apples, loaded them in the car – thanks to many bags the Chef had given Alek – and started on their way back home.

"Oh look!" Eliza pointed out the window at another farm down the road, one that she hadn't noticed coming over. "It says _Pumpkins_!"

Alek slowed the car and both exchanged a grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alek asked.

"Oh, yeah," Eliza said.

Alek parked the car in front of the Farmhouse and they quickly got out. They arrived in a field filled with pumpkins of varying oranges, whites, greys, shapes and sizes.

"You know what? Let's pick thirteen huge pumpkins," Eliza suggested.

"Why specifically thirteen?" he asked, confused.

"One for each of us. We can have a pumpkin carving afternoon on Sunday."

Alek raised an eyebrow. This was supposed to be _their_ date. Eliza bringing up the eleven other Selected wasn't really welcome. "Okay," he simply said.

Eliza didn't notice his change of mood and just strolled down the pumpkin streets with a red wagon, and picked the thirteen largest and prettiest pumpkins she could find. Alek tagged along, but it wasn't really fun for him, he smiled and participated for Eliza's sake, though. When Jack saw the pumpkins once they had paid and all, he frowned.

"There's no room in the car for those," he said.

Eliza shrugged. "We'll just put them in the other car," she said, pointing at the _Illéa Weekly_ Crew's car, who had followed them there, too.

They gladly accepted, and then they all headed back home, only thirty minutes late. Alek instructed the Butler to bring the apples to the kitchens, and the pumpkins to another place, and told him that the pumpkins were not to be eaten.

When all that was taken care of, he and Eliza walked inside, hand in hand.

"I had the greatest time, this afternoon," she told him.

He smiled. "Me too. I'll send you the pictures."

"Thanks." They shared a glance, but now that they were back home, their closeness was awkward, knowing that anyone and everyone could see them. As much as Alek wanted to be Eliza's only one, he knew there were eleven others. He just hoped this afternoon would keep him longer in the Selection. He walked her to her room, knowing that they only had one hour until dinner was served. Once they arrived in front of her door, he looked left and right, making sure there was no one, and he kissed her again. Eliza didn't hesitate to kiss him back, but it didn't last as long as he'd wanted to, Eliza breaking the kiss before he was ready to end it. She offered him a shy smile, and went to her room.

It was so different to be together away from everyone, or together in the Palace, where anyone could spy on them. She wasn't really comfortable, even in her own home.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

When she walked into her room, her heart beating fast, she didn't notice right away the outfit laid on her bed for her. She went directly to the bathroom and stood in front of her mirror, wondering why she was flustered like this. It wasn't the first time she was this close to Alek. But why was it so hard to be close to them in the Palace, around everyone else?

A knock on her bathroom door made her jump. "Milady? Everything okay?"

"Yep," she quickly replied to Samantha. "Just gonna take a shower before dinner."

"Uhm, you're not going to dinner with everyone else, actually."

Eliza frowned and opened the door. "What do you mean?"

Samantha smirked and pointed to the outfit on her bed. There was also a note with it.

 _I hope you didn't eat too many apples and that you're still a little bit hungry ;)_

 _Follow the candles outside and you'll find me._

 _Caspian._

Eliza smiled. And when she looked at the outfit, she noticed the striped skirt, the comfy jeans shirt, and the white shoes. He had remembered her love for stripes. Who hadn't, really? And of course, the skirt also had pockets.

"He didn't say a time," Eliza wondered out loud, rereading the note

"Oh, he said as soon as you're ready, Miss," Samantha said.

"Okay." She quickly went back to take a shower and get ready. Twenty-five minutes later, she was stepping out of her room and heading to the door at the back, the one heading to the gardens. As soon as she looked outside, she noticed the trail of candles. It wasn't dark yet, but it would soon be. She followed the trail for a few minutes. Wow. How many candles did he find and put out? That must have taken him a really long time.

Then she finally saw him, sitting on a blanket with piles of pillows and blankets scattered on it, in case the September air got chilly. And of course, a basket with food in it.

"Hey," she said, coming over.

"Hi!" he replied, standing up. "Glad you could make it before dark," he teased her.

"Haha. Yeah well, it took a little bit longer because we stopped on the way… anyway, I'm here now." She smiled and sat on the blanket. "Thanks for the outfit choice, by the way. No one had done that before."

Caspian chuckled. "Samantha helped a bit, to be honest. I wanted something with stripes, and something nice."

"Well, that did the trick," she replied, smiling.

"Are you hungry, yet?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Not yet. I ate four or five apples this afternoon. But soon, I promise."

"Good, because I'm not hungry either, yet." He took out a pack of cards from his breast pocket. "You like magic tricks?"

Eliza raised a curious eyebrow. "You're into magic, huh?"

"No, just card tricks." He shuffled the deck and asked her to pick a card, to memorize it without telling him and to put it back in the pile. He did some agile tricks with his fingers and then took a card out. "Was it this one?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Yeah, how did you do that?" Eliza asked, genuinely curious.

He chuckled. "Here, let me do it again."

This time, Eliza was much more alert on what he did. But again, he found her card without her knowing how. He did other card tricks, the next one always more impressive than the last, and Eliza couldn't comprehend how he could memorize all that. They were interrupted more than once by the flashes of the camera from the _Illéa Weekly_ crew, and it was starting to get really annoying.

Until both their bellies grumbled, and it was time to eat. The camera crew took some shots of the picnic, and then left them alone.

"Oh, thank God," Eliza said. "I thought they would never go away. I didn't think to have them around would be so annoying."

Caspian chuckled. "Yeah. But then again, it's the only week they're here. After that, you're rid of them."

"True." She looked up at his smiling face. He was always smiling. "Are you always this optimistic and happy?" she suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah, I try." He paused. "I try not to think about the shitty things in my life right now, and to focus on the present moment with you."

Eliza sighed. "The Drones?"

Caspian nodded, getting out their sandwiches.

"Any news about that? From your brother or someone else?"

Caspian snorted. "Gaspard and I were really close, and he was always interested in my work. But ever since that happened – the Drones, I mean – he's been distant. He called me once or twice, but he said he was very disappointed in me. Even when I told him it wasn't my fault."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Now he has to – I quote – 'clean my mess'. He's always been better than me at politics and diplomacy. He's been trying to negotiate something with New Asia, to get the name of the person who sold them the plans." He paused again. "So far, no luck."

"This whole world is a mess, to be honest. My dad is also trying to minimize the damage. At least they found the group who attacked in Illéa." He took a bite of her sandwich. "They've been trying to trace the robots, but it only led them to New Asia. It doesn't lead them to France. Not yet."

Caspian was silent, also eating his sandwich. "What if the plans didn't come from me?" he suddenly said. "What if someone else found similar plans? Maybe Leonardo da Vinci made copies of those plans to send them to someone else, back in his time, in New Asia?"

"That would be really coincidental, Cas," Eliza said, not convinced. "That you'd be working on those plans at the same time someone else did, at the same time as you."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He sighed. "Anyway. There's nothing I can do about it from here. Once I go home, I'll take care of that and help Gaspard."

He was right. Only one of them would stay. And they were probably all making plans for _after_ the Selection. What were her plans for _after_ the Selection, again? Right. A wedding. And cleaning up the diplomatic/political mess this Selection had created in the first place.

A chilly gust of wind met them, and they both curled up in a blanket. The flickering candles around them made light patterns on their faces as if they were near a bonfire. Lots of tiny bonfires.

They talked late into the night, long after the lights in the Palace windows turned off. Long even after most of the candles had burned out. Long after the stars had appeared in the sky. It was around two in the morning when they decided to go back inside. Though they were quite reluctant to leave the warmth of the blankets wrapped around them, they gathered everything and made their way back to the Palace, with a couple of candles Caspian had kept in his bag for the end of the evening.

They held on to each other to avoid falling or tripping on the burned-out candles and finally made it safely inside. Caspian put all the pillows, blankets and food basket in a corner, as instructed by the Butler. The staff would take care of it first thing in the morning.

He made sure she made it safely to her room, bid her goodnight and went to his own room. He couldn't sleep for the rest of the night, of course. He didn't know what to make of his feelings for the Princess. On one hand, he loved talking to her and spending time with her. They hadn't stopped talking. But on the other hand, he wasn't sure he was in love with her. And he wasn't sure he wanted to be. There were several others here who clearly were, and only one would win her heart. The others would have a broken heart. He had already experienced that once, and he didn't want to go through that again. No, thank you.

* * *

 ** _Heyyy, so here are the next to dates, I hope you liked them^^_**

 _ **don't forget the interviews if you haven't done them already, thanks to those who did!**_

 ** _don't forget to go check the Aesthetic section for this chapter on Pinterest ;) see you soon!_**


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

On the fourth day of the dating week with the _Illéa Weekly_ Crew looming around, Eliza was a bit tired, especially since she had gone to bed at two in the morning the previous night, and had to wake up still at the same hour to get her work done. It was boring reading, and she wished once more she could just leave and start a new life without the weight of the country on her shoulders and the whole world watching her.

Lunch went on without any incident or interesting conversation, and Rance quickly pulled Eliza away after the meal.

"Hey, so, uhm, it's my turn this afternoon to take you on a date," he said. "Do you need some time to change?"

Eliza looked down at her rather imposing skirt. "Yes. Give me fifteen minutes."

"Okay, great," he replied, smiling. "I'll be waiting for you outside, near the car."

They went their own way, him to prepare the car with the chauffeur – he didn't want to drive – and Eliza went to change. She put on a pair of gray capri pants – her favorite – with a white t-shirt and cardigan. She quickly undid her hairdo that was pulling at her scalp with its myriad of bobby pins and tied it in a loose braid on the side. She filled her purse with her wallet – you never know –, her phone, and her sunglasses and met with Rance outside.

He was waiting, leaning against the car, scrolling through stuff on his phone. He looked up when he heard steps on the stone stairs, and put his phone in his pocket.

"Oh, hey," he greeted her with a smile. "You ready to go?"

Eliza nodded, and Rance opened the door for her. She scooted to the other side to let him sit next to her, and the chauffeur – with Jack next to him up front – turned the engine on.

"So, where are we going?" Eliza asked.

"You'll see," he said smirking. "You're gonna love it." Eliza tried not to get too frustrated. Why did no one want to tell her where they were going?

They talked about this and that, and Rance asked her, at some point, how her grandmother was doing. They hadn't seen her in some time, at dinner, or around the Palace.

Eliza blanked for a moment. She didn't even know how Andromeda was. She had been so focused on her work, the dates, the yellow files waiting in her father's office, and everything Selection-related that she had completely forgotten to visit with her grandmother. That was something she would need to do. Soon.

"Uhm, I'm going to visit her later today," she said. "I'll get some fresh news from her, then."

Rance nodded, noticing that Eliza didn't know how her grandmother was doing. So he changed the subject.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped, and Eliza looked outside. She stepped out of the car in front of a blue building that said in big white letters _Aquarium of the Pacific_.

"To think that I've lived in Los Angeles most of my life," she said when Rance stood beside her, looking up at the blue building, "except when I was in college, and I've never been to all these places before."

Rance chuckled. "Same for me, in New Zealand." He started off for the Entrance and Eliza followed, Jack and the photographers in tow. "I guess it's what it is to be a royal. You're the head of your country, but you don't know your country well enough."

"True," Eliza replied. "When I have kids, I'm definitely showing them these places."

Rance chuckled. "Unless they have their own Selection and the Selected brings them there."

"Not a chance," Eliza said. "My kids are never having a Selection." She snorted. "Over my dead body."

"So bad, huh?" Rance asked, sobering up.

"No! it's not that," Eliza said. "It's just… I kind of understand why I'm doing this and all, but if they can find love in another way, then I'll let them."

Rance was silent for a moment. "Unless the people of Illéa ask for a Selection."

"Why would they?" Eliza said.

"Because you already deprived them of one, taking foreign Selected and all. And from what I read, they weren't very happy about it…"

"No, you're right," Eliza said.

By the time they had finished their conversation, Jack had paid three tickets and they were walking inside the Aquarium building. It was like walking in a maze made of glass walls, with fish swimming in the background. They even walked in a tunnel, with gigantic sharks swimming above their heads. They spent long moments in silence, their noses against the windows, watching the mesmerizing ballet of ocean creatures. It was amazing. Beautiful. Like natural poetry.

All in all, they spent at least three hours in the aquarium, under the deep blue sea. After that, they went outside, bought a couple of ice creams, and went to eat them on the beach. They walked side by side. In the distance, Eliza saw the wooden pier where she and Raphael shared their first kiss. The first official one of the Selection. Her belly glowed warmly, but she tried to push the thought away. Rance was talking about New Zealand, his dog, his sister, and his life back home. She'd better pay attention.

She promised him to come to New Zealand one day, also to see the mountain and natural park he had dedicated to her. Then they went back home.

 **-x-x-x-**

She thanked Rance for the lovely afternoon before heading to the third floor, to her grandmother's bedroom. She lightly knocked on the door, and Andromeda's personal maid opened the door.

"Is she awake?" Eliza asked, her voice low.

"Yes, Your Highness. You may come in," the maid replied, stepping aside.

Eliza walked in and noticed her grandmother lying in her bed.

"Ah, darling," the Queen mother said. "Long time no see," she added, a glint of amusement in her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Eliza sighed a little shakily. Her grandmother looked weak, but she still had her humor. "I'm fine. I came to see how you were doing," she said. "And you were right. _Too_ long time no see. I'm terribly sorry."

"Nonsense, dearie," Andromeda replied, waving the air in front of her. "You have much better things to take care about-" She was cut off by a coughing fit. Her maid quickly gave her a new handkerchief to cough in. She was discreet about it, but Eliza noticed how bloody it was. She didn't say anything, though.

"So tell me," the old lady said. "How are your handsome boyfriends?" she smirked a little, looking expectantly at her granddaughter. "Tell me _every_ detail."

Eliza smiled and took her grandmother's warm and wrinkled hand in hers. "Well, I'm doing the last round on dates with all of them before choosing the Elite."

Andromeda smiled. "But you already know who is going to be in your Elite, right?"

Eliza's cheeks glowed pink. "Yeah, kinda." She chuckled. "But I still wanted to give them all a chance."

Andromeda shook her head. "It's not a last date that is going to change your mind," she said softly. "You've known these boys for weeks, now. Your heart knows better."

Eliza didn't reply right away. Andromeda was right, of course. But _Illéa Weekly_ was involved in the last dates, now, it was too late to back out. "Maybe it does. But thople want to see more dates."

"Do they?" the queen mother asked. "Or does Jade Reese want?"

The redhead chuckled. "I don't know. But I'm in too deep this week to back out."

Andromeda smiled. She knew how overwhelming it could be to have the whole country – the whole damn world, even – watch as your love life evolved. One's heart was private.

"Dad wants me to marry for an alliance," Eliza blurted out. "Can you believe he gave me the pros and cons lists for all the guys?"

Andromeda chuckled. "That is so much your father." She sighed. "Ignore him. Marry who you want. Who you love. Otherwi,se you'll be unhappy your whole life." She paused, coughing some more. "Darling, you need someone to come home to, after work. Or someone you can work with. Someone that will make your days easier. Not a man you don't want to come home to, who's only there to strengthen an alliance. A man you don't even like. I'me telling you. If you want children of your own – and you'll have to have at least two Heirs – you better love the man…"

Eliza nodded. Funny how she and her father had such different points of view. Like they had been through life on different planets. True, Andromeda was a Queen Consort. She had been there for her husband to come home to. Oliver was the King. He may have loved Elinor in the beginning, but they had grown apart over the years. Both opinions were valid.

"I just wish I could combine both, you know?" Eliza said. "Marry someone I love, and strengthen Illéa at the same time."

Andromeda smiled. "If you can do that, dearie, you've hit the jackpot."

Both chuckled softly.

"You're going to do great, darling," the old lady said. "I just hope I will still be here to see you married," she added softly.

"Of course, you will," Eliza quickly said.

Andromeda nodded. But in truth, she somehow knew she wouldn't have that much time. If she could at least know who Eliza had chosen, she could die happily. She closed her eyes for a little bit, tired from the conversation.

Eliza pressed a small kiss on her grandmother's forehead. "I'll come back soon," she whispered as Andromeda fell asleep. The princess tiptoed out of the room and went directly to her own room, a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't burst into tears for all to hear.

Once she was safely inside, she let out a sob. She knew her grandmother was getting weaker by the day. If only she could speed up the dates and the Selection, so she could give her grandmother her wish. But the last dates had to go as planned. At least she could speed up the Elite if needed.

She let a couple of tears stream down her cheeks, before quickly wiping them off as a knock on her door made her come back to the reality of the dates. Was that already her next date? Ugh. She rolled her eyes.

 **-x-x-x-**

"Tom!" she said, surprised. A genuine smile spread across her lips.

"Hey, love" he said, grinning, too. He handed her a beautiful sunflower bouquet with some small pink flowers in it. "Sorry, peonies aren't in season anymore," he said.

Eliza grinned. "Thank you, it's beautiful." She went to her bedside table where there was already a bouquet starting to wither. She took it out, changed the water, and put the new sunflower bouquet in its place. "Samantha will take care of this," she said, motioning to the old bouquet.

"So, are you ready to go…?" he asked.

"Uhm, yeah," she said. "Do I need to change or anything?" she asked, looking at her pants, and his tie.

Tomlin shrugged. "You don't have to. Only if you want to."

"Because I feel a little underdressed at the moment."

Tom chuckled. "I'll wait outside," he suggested. Though both remembered that evening when he had unzipped her gown, helping her to get ready for bed. It had been their first kiss… both a little drunk.

Eliza didn't answer that and quickly went to her walk-in closet, and changed into a simple knee-length black dress with elbow-long sleeves. She paired the outfit pink suede heels and kept her side braid. When she came back in her room, Tomlin was still there. He had not gone outside to wait…

He grinned when he saw her. "You look gorgeous," he said. "Now I'm the underdressed one."

Eliza chuckled. "No, you're not. We're even. Shall we go?"

He offered her his arm, and they walked down the stairs, passing Alek and Raphael talking in the hall. Tomlin looked at them smugly, and held his head high. Eliza tried to ignore the little charade. The couple walked outside, where the long black limo was waiting for them.

"Huh," Eliza said. "We're not sneaking out, this time?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"Not with _him_ in the vicinity," he replied, pointing at Jack with his thumb. "We had to give him precise schedules of what we were going to do. To the minute."

"No, not true," Jack said. "But you are not getting out of my sight, little prince," he said. "Special orders from the King."

Eliza pursed her lips, trying not the laugh. "You're still grounded?"

"Don't remind me," Tomlin replied rolling his eyes, and opening the door for her. He climbed in on the other side, and they were gone. This time, Eliza didn't try to ask where they were going. No one was telling her anything, anyway.

The drive was only fifteen minutes long, and they ended up in the middle of vineyards. The car stopped and they both climbed out. They were on a small hill outside of Los Angeles, and the Ranor there was beautiful.

Tomlin led her to the Manor's entrance, where a butler in livery was waiting for them.

"Right this way, your Highnesses," he said. The couple – followed by Jack and the _Illéa Weekly_ , as always – followed the butler inside. He led them along halls with historical paintings, to a door with a staircase going down. The old stone stairs ended in the cellar of the Manor.

"Is this where you kill me?" Eliza whispered to Tom.

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Not a chance, love."

The butler finally stopped at the end of the underground tunnel in a giant basement filled from floor to ceiling with bottles of wine. Against one wall were three huge wine barrels, higher even than Tomlin.

"Welcome to the Moraga Domain," a man in his mid-forties said, coming down the stairs a minute after them. "Your Highnesses," he added, bowing deeply. "Please allow me to introduce you to wine tasting."

He pulled out a tray from under a wooden counter, full of cheese, crackers, and grapes. He then took out a wooden crate with clean wine glasses in it. He asked them if they preferred white or red wine, and they both said "Red!" in unison.

"Well, that settles, it, then," the man said, smiling.

He opened a bottle and served them both a glass. There was a larger vase on the counter, too. And since both had an empty stomach, they started with some cheese and a cracker. After that, they both sipped the wine.

Eliza drank it, but Tom spit it out in the larger vase, chuckling.

"You're not supposed to drink it, love," he said, laughing softly. "Or you'll get drunk before we get to the dessert wines."

"Oh…" Eliza replied, blushing. "Of course, I knew that…"

The man behind the counter tried not to laugh. He opened another bottle, telling them what wine it was, blah blah blah. Eliza didn't really memorize anything about the wines. She wanted to drink them! She drank one out of three, because she was a wine lover.

After tasting fifteen different red wines – and really drinking five for Eliza – the Manor man said it was time for them to make their own blend of champagne. They had to taste several to choose from, and once it was done, they had two bottles of their own champagne, with their names in beautiful Calligraphy on the label.

They thanked the man and left, their bottles of champagne in a wooden box.

"Eliza, did you drink the wine?" Tom asked suspiciously.

"Just a little," she replied sheepishly. "I had to! You know me."

Tomlin chuckled and made sure she didn't trip up the stairs. She wasn't drunk, just a little tipsy. They climbed back in the car, but instead of heading back to the Palace, the car went higher up on the vineyard hill. Ten minutes later, they were at the top, with nothing at all to block the view from the city. The sun was very low on the horizon, and it would soon be dark. Tomlin opened the Limo's trunk and took out a rolled mattress. He took some other stuff, too, and headed to a place where a small bonfire was crackling. True to his word, Jack had sent a couple of guard ahead to check the security and make the fire. He laid out the mattress on the ground and sat on it, the basket on the grass beside him. He invited Eliza to sit next to him, and she obliged.

"This is so sweet," she said. "I'm glad we're not going home right away."

Tomlin smiled at that, and took out a small, flat, black box from the basket. "There's something I wanted to give you," he said, handing her box.

Eliza was sober enough to compose herself and open the box. A small gasp escaped her. "Oh, my God, it's beautiful." On the black velvet was a necklace. It was made of a single string of diamonds with a sapphire teardrop pendant.

"It was my grandmother's" he said. "With her permission, of course. And because I'm not allowed to give you a ring yet." He grinned. "Hopefully, with _your_ permission, I'll be able to do that one day." He paused. "Until then, this necklace is yours. I hope you'll accept it, at least for the duration of the Selection."

Eliza didn't know what to say. The necklace was beautiful. "Thank you," she whispered.

"May I?" he asked.

Eliza nodded and Tomlin took the necklace out of the box and secured it around her neck. He wanted so badly to kiss her neck, just like that first time, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Like dessert.

"Okay," he said, forcing himself to think of something else. "Dessert?"

Eliza nodded, her heart beating fast.

Tomlin took out some stuff from the basket and laid them all in front of them.

"Are you kidding?" Eliza asked, grinning. "S'mores?"

"You don't like them?" he asked, panicking for a second.

"Oh, no! I love them!"

He sighed, relieved. "Good." They prepared their dessert and put them above the fire. By then, the sky had darkened enough to see the stars. He looked at Jack, nodded once, and Jack took his phone out, mumbling something in it.

Three minutes later, fireworks exploded in the distance, over the ocean, lighting the sky. They illuminated her eyes with thousands of tiny stars. She was looking at the fireworks; he was looking at her. If only he could speed up the Selection and propose to her. Like, right now.

But he couldn't. It was her choice to make. He only hoped this romantic date would sway her enough to tilt the scales. That _had_ to be better than apple picking, right? But he still didn't know what Raphael's date would be. He was being so secretive about it. Damn him.

He kept his eyes on the smiling princess, both forgetting their s'mores which were melting into the fire.

The fireworks lasted ten minutes. The grande finale was a heart made out of dozens of fireworks.

"Oh, my God, look!" Eliza said.

Tomlin peeked at the heart for a second before looking at her again.

Once it was over, she looked at him. She noticed him watching her with a grin on his face. "Wait. Did you plan the fireworks, too?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yep."

Eliza laughed softly, and then they both noticed their s'mores had disappeared into the fire. They made some more – _s'more_ – and were careful not to make them melt this time. They ate five or six each, and then Tomlin produced two glasses out of thin air, and took his bottle of champagne.

"Let's drink to this beautiful time together," he said.

Eliza nodded. "Let's."

Tomlin made the champagne pop loudly.

"Princess!" Jack said, running over to the couple.

"Don't you know the difference between booze and gunshots, Jack?" Eliza said, annoyed. "You were in the army, for crying out loud!"

Tomlin snorted and filled the two glasses. "To Us," he toasted.

"To Us!" Eliza repeated. They clinked their glasses together and sipped the champagne. Eliza closed her eyes in happy bliss. What could be better than champagne, a campfire, and a young man she loved spending time with?

After emptying more than half the bottle, they laid down on the thin mattress, Tomlin pulled a blanket over them, and they looked at the stars. They pointed which ones they knew, talked about wine, whispered about things they wanted to do in the future, and finally fell asleep in each other's arms.

Jack yawned in the background, trying not to fall asleep himself.

Around three in the morning, they both woke up, their feet freezing.

"Maybe we should head back home," he whispered to the girl half asleep in his arm.

"I don't know," she mumbled, curling herself closer to him.

He grinned and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her with everything he had. Hoping this would seal the deal and keep him for eternity near her.

* * *

 _ **Hayaa new chapter!**_

 _ **I hope you appreciated all the fluff... anyway. don't forget to check the aesthetics section ;) and don't forget the interviews... if you haven't already.**_

 _ **See you soon! the Elite will be in 3 CHAPTERS... 0.0**_


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

Friday. The week of dates was almost done. It started as something really fun, but now she wished it wasn't all crammed into six days. Only four more to go, though. It was really hard for Eliza to get out of bed, that morning, considering that she and Tom had come back home around five in the morning before anyone had wakened. Her feet had frozen, but at least the rest of her body had been warm against his. Warmth tingled in her lower abdomen as she thought about it. She closed her eyes and cuddled deeper into her duvet and pillows. She turned on her side and tried to fall asleep again, with the warm socks on her feet. This time, she was not freezing.

A bright light blinded her, even with her eyes closed. She pulled the covers over her head and grumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that, Your Highness?" Samantha asked, going over to the second window to draw the curtains.

"Nothing," she mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine o'clock, Milady."

"WHAT?" Eliza exclaimed, sitting up like a Jack-in-the-box in her bed. "Why is it this late?" she held her head, which was throbbing on the left side. Damn hangover.

"You needed your beauty sleep. Jack left me a note saying you came back at five in the morning, and you needed to sleep." She paused, laying out an outfit on her bed, not mentioning that Jack said something about wine and Champagne. "It's the longest I could let you sleep."

Eliza rubbed her face with her hands. "But _nine_ , Samantha. I missed breakfast."

Sam pointed at the table with her chin. There was a tray with cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. "Curtesy of your date from last night," Sam said.

Eliza kicked the covers away and went to sit at the table. There was also a glass of water, and aspirin in an envelope with a note: _You might need this, too, love._ Elisa shook her head, grinning. He knew her too well. She gulped down the aspirin with the water and ate her breakfast, going over her date of the previous night. She just hoped she hadn't had too much wine and wasn't outright drunk. But since she remembered most of it, it should be okay…

After a quick shower and a change of outfit, she headed to her office, where a pile of files and papers were waiting for her on her desk. She sat on the leather chair and went to work. Her head was still hurting a little, and the lines were sometimes mixing, so she had to read some paragraphs twice to make sense of them.

"Wow, you're totally hungover," a familiar voice said from the door frame. What was Millie doing here?

"What do you want?" Eliza asked, wary.

Millie walked in like she owned the place and sat on the couch. "You know I'm getting married, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Kamran."

Millie nodded. "Well, you're going to be my Maid of Honor."

Eliza snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I?" Millie asked, on the defensive.

"Because you hate me and you've been awful during the whole Selection. Do you really think I want to be your Maid of Honor?"

She shrugged. "Look." She paused, sighed. "That school attack shook me, okay? I know you lost two friends, and it made me realize things, too."

Eliza raised an eyebrow, not buying it. "What do you want from me?"

Millie shrugged. "We used to be best friends when we were little. You remember?"

Still, Eliza was wary of her sister. "Look. Get to the point. I have a headache, and work to do."

Millie pursed her lips. "Look, I don't have any close friends to be my Maid of Honor. I don't even know if I'll have bridesmaids. I just have you, okay?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Wil you do it or not?"

Eliza rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the ache. The aspirin was wearing off. "When's the wedding? And just so you know, I'm in the middle of my Selection."

"The Iranian Emperor wants to speed it up," she said, not totally answering.

"When?" Eliza asked again.

"In a couple of weeks." Millie closed her eyes, waiting for Eliza's reaction.

Eliza pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, come on," Millie said. "In two-three days you announce your Elite. But we all know you're gonna choose either Raphael, Alek, or Tomlin. Just have them play rock-paper-scissors and be done with it. In two weeks, you have your One, and you can both come to the wedding. And don't you dare come with three guys at the wedding. I'm not sure the Iranians would be very happy to see a princess with three boyfriends at their Prince's wedding."

"You've been rehearsing that, haven't you?" Eliza asked, unimpressed.

Millie made a face. "No? Okay, fine. Yes. But please just do it."

Eliza sighed. "Will I have to wear a veil or something to cover my hair?"

"No. Just me."

Eliza let her head drop on her chair's backrest. She closed her eyes. Could she do it? For their sisterhood's sake? Would she already have her One, by then? "Okay fine," Eliza finally said. "I'll do it. But on one condition."

"What?" Millie asked, afraid of what she was about to ask.

"I know you've been stealing money from your school charities. Give it back to them."

Millie's eyes opened wide. "How did you know? Wait you know what, I don't want to know. Okay fine. Besides. You'll have to continue those, while I'm gone."

Eliza snorted. "You really think I'll have the time for that?"

Millie shrugged. "Maybe not you, but your husband will." She flashed her a grin. "But okay. I'll see what I can do about it." She rolled her eyes and stood to leave. "Thanks, by the way. Oh, and I'll send you some Maid of Honor dresses for you to choose from."

She left her sister's office, while Eliza facepalmed with her folders, her head on her desk. Why on earth had she accepted? _Because she's your little sister,_ a voice said somewhere in her subconscious…

 **-x-x-x-**

An hour before lunch, there was a knock on her office door. Why was everyone bothering her in the middle of her work, that day? She checked her watch – the one Raph had given her on her birthday. "What is it?" she called up, not looking from her paperwork.

The door slowly opened and a brown-haired head poked in, a grin on his face. "Hey, princess," Raphael said. "Can I bother you for a minute?"

Eliza smiled and nodded, inviting him in.

"Wow, this place is nice," he said, looking around his hands in his pockets. "Better than my mom's office."

"Well, I'm a princess. She's only a president," she replied, amusement filling her voice.

"True, true…" he said, still looking around. There was a picture of her family, dating from quite a few years back since she appeared to be maybe fourteen or something. He smiled at the sight. She was super cute.

"So, how can I help you?" she asked. He did say he was in only for a minute.

"Oh, right," he said. "May I?" he asked, pointing at the sofa where Millie had sat a couple of hours ago. Eliza nodded. "Okay, so here's the deal. This afternoon is my turn to take you on an epic date" – he grinned – "and I was wondering if we could leave before lunch, considering there's the Report we need to be on time for, this evening."

"Uhm, yeah, sure. What time do you want to leave?"

He checked his own Swiss watch. "Is eleven-thirty okay with you?" She nodded. "Excellent." He stood, pushing himself up on his thighs. "Hope you're not afraid of heights, though…" he asked, as an afterthought.

Eliza raised a surprised eyebrow. "No, I don't think so." She chuckled nervously. What on earth were they going to do?

"Okay, then. I'll see you in a bit. Oh, and wear some pants." He grinned and walked away.

"Yes, sir," she mumbled, saluting him. But he was already gone. She had twenty more minutes to work before getting ready for her date. She set a timer to be sure not to miss the time.

Twenty minutes later, the timer went off, and she put her papers and files away. She hurried to her room, put on a pair of jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt, and a sweater. She hurried outside and met him near the black car waiting for them. He was wearing his own military uniform, the one he had worn on the Introduction ball. And _damn those boots._

"Oh, wow," she said, seeing him. "I'm totally underdressed here."

"Nah, don't worry," he said, opening the door for her. "We'll be wearing matching outfits in no time." He winked at her, closed the door and climbed in on the other side. The chauffeur turned on the engine and they drove for almost forty-five minutes until they arrived at their destination.

"Raph, why are we at the Air Force Airport?" She paused just one second before finding the answer for herself. "Oh, my God," she grinned. "You're taking me flying?"

"Yep," he replied proudly. "I'm a pilot, so why not?"

Eliza laughed. Of course. That's why he had asked her if she was afraid of heights. "How on earth did you convince Jack to do this?" she hissed, not wanting Jack to hear.

Raphael shrugged. "I promised him his weight in Swiss chocolate."

Eliza burst out laughing. "I had no idea he was so easily bought."

"Not all true," Jack said, turning around in his front seat. "True, he's going to give me ninety kilos of chocolate, but he also owes me a favor. Which I might demand in fifty years or tomorrow." He paused. "Besides, I have my money on him. I pulled a few strings, thanks to my military connections, and here we are."

Eliza couldn't believe this was really happening. They climbed out of the car and Raphael quickly got by her side, took her hand in his and smiled blissfully.

"I've wanted to do this for so long," he said. He didn't mention out loud that he would have never been able to do this with Linus around.

"Well, I'm glad you found a way," she replied, excitement in her eyes. She was looking around the tarmac at all the military planes waiting, wondering which one they would be flying. After going through security, meeting with some of the Air Force guys, they were given two _matching_ suits and helmets to wear. When they were finally ready, it was almost one o'clock. Eliza's belly grumbled, reminding her that she had not eaten lunch.

"You'll thank me later," Raphael said. "If you're not used to flying these birdies, your stomach might not be very happy. We'll go to eat afterward."

"Okay," she said, not reassured at all. Was she going to puke? One of the Illéan Air Force pilots showed them which Bird they were going to fly, and he made sure Raphael was familiar with the machine. He said yes, that they had similar ones in Switzerland. He knew how important security and safety were, so he didn't try to accelerate things. They would be in the sky eventually.

After what felt like an hour of safety and security measures, they climbed into the airplane. The soldier who volunteered to help them make sure the Princess was well-secured and that her mask was well linked to the oxygen tank. Raphael was champing at the bit, eager to go up.

 _Finally_ , they were ready. The glass bubble above them closed with a hiss, and he waited for instructions from the control tower.

"You alright?" he asked Eliza while waiting.

"Yeah!" she called back. "Oh, sorry, I forgot the mic."

Raphael chuckled. "You'll get used to it, don't worry."

He got the clear message from the tower and he turned the engines on. "Where to, miss?"

"To the stars!" Eliza replied.

Raphael chuckled and pushed the plane forward until they were fast enough to take off, to which Eliza whooped in delight. He couldn't see her face, but from the sound of it, she was having a good time, and she was grinning. When they reached their cruising altitude and speed, he spoke up through the mic.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great! This is so cool!"

"Okay. Would you like us to try some acrobatics?"

"Wait, what? Like being upside down and all?" she asked, not really sure she wanted to try that.

"Yeah. We can start with a slow vertical loop, and you tell me if you want to do more, okay?"

"Uhm, have you done this before?"

"All the time. It's basic flight formation tricks," he replied.

She took a deep breath, tightened her grip on her seat belt and parachute – in case something went wrong, how reassuring – and nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."

Raphael grinned. "Great!" he focused on his maneuver and brought them slowly in a giant loop, and coming back horizontally. All in all, it didn't even take a minute. "How was that?" he asked.

"So cool. Can we do it again?" she squealed.

"Of course," he replied, grinning. She was loving it, and it made him the happiest man on the earth. Or in the sky. "Okay, let's go, then!" He made another loop, and then a double loop. Eliza whooped and squealed in the back seat, and she was super excited. He offered to do some other tricks. Eliza found that extremely fun and she wanted to try more crazy tricks. But Raphael knew they didn't have the whole day, and he kept his eyes on the time. He needed to bring her back to the ground soon. Spending time in flight meant that time went by fast. Because science.

"Okay, we need to start heading back soon. But I want to do one last trick if it's okay with you."

"Sure! What trick?"

"It's called the Drop." He paused. "Or the Dive."

Eliza didn't answer right away. That would mean diving down almost vertically and miss crashing on the ground, before going back up.

"You trust me?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"So, do we do it?"

Pause. "Hell, yeah," she finally decided.

So Raphael tipped the plane's nose down, and they quickly picked up speed. The ground was coming at them real fast, and Eliza closed her eyes and held her breath. That was it. _She was going to die_. At some point, Raphael pulled the lever back toward him and the plane started to tip upwards again. It did something funny to Eliza's stomach, and she knew that she would have puked, had her stomach been full. The plane was no horizontal.

"How was that?" Raphael asked. Eliza hadn't said or whooped anything.

"Scary as hell. Don't ever do that again," she breathed out into her mic.

Raphael chuckled. "Okay. Let's go home, now." He messaged the control tower asking if the coast was clear. They said yes, and he headed back to the airport.

Eliza was smiling again, looking at the landscape way below them. She had trusted him, even though her mind said something else. And she was glad she had said yes to the Drop. A few minutes later, the wheels touched the ground. Raphael steered the Bird in its proper place, following instructions. Once the engines had died down, and Eliza's stomach had settled, the glass bubble popped open and he stood out of his seat. He helped Eliza out of hers and they walked down the ladder and on solid ground. Eliza's legs were a bit wobbly, and Raphael caught her around the waist before she could fall flat on her face. She was flushed under her helmet and one of the airport guys helped her take it off. She had a huge grin on her face, and Raph was super glad to see he hadn't scared her to death.

They changed back into their normal clothes and headed to a small restaurant on the beach. The same one where they had crepes on their first date. Of course. Raphael was a sentimental guy. Both their bellies were screaming for food, once settled on solid earth, and they ate a huge strawberry and chocolate crepe each.

"Thanks for sharing your passion with me," Eliza said. "You truly are a great pilot."

Raphael grinned and looked away, embarrassed. He did love flying. And he loved her. The two best things in life combined made it the ultimate best day in his existence. "Well, I'm glad you let me show you. I was afraid you wouldn't want to fly."

"Are you kidding? This was amazing." She reached for his hand across the table and they stared at each other in silent, blissful smiles on their faces.

He wanted to kiss her so badly, right now. But the table between them was an obstacle. Damn it. He should have sat next to her, not across from her. _Screw this_. He dragged his chair next to hers and leaned in to kiss her. She tasted of chocolate, sugar, and strawberries, and that made his amazing day even better. If even that was possible. She smiled under his kiss and kissed him back.

A few tables away, the chauffeur was giving ten bucks to Jack. He had bet they would kiss in the restaurant. He won and stuffed his money in his pocket. He checked his phone. They really needed to get going.

A few minutes later, they were in the car heading home. Eliza was sitting in the middle seat, cuddled against Raphael who had his arm around her. She was exhausted from her short freezing night, the excitement of flying – and almost dying – and a full stomach. She fell asleep, feeling safe. Raphael grinned and tried to make his heart beat a little slower.

 **-x-x-x-**

Raphael and Eliza arrived just on time for the Report. Everyone was already there and they arrived the last ones after quickly changing. They couldn't show up in some random casual clothes. Although Raphael could have shown up in his Military uniform.

"Ah, there you are!" Ruby said, coming over to the princess. "I was afraid I was going to have to start without you two."

"We're here, now," Eliza said, a tiny bit out of breath. A stray strand of hair fell out from her formal bun, and Ruby quickly put it back in place.

"Good." She motioned to them to go take their seats. Eliza sat on her plush chair, her purple chiffon dress spreading around her as she did so. It was an off-the-shoulder dress with puffy long sleeve. She hadn't worn something like that in a long time, but she hadn't had time to argue over the outfit choice, she was already late enough.

"Good evening, Illéa!" Ruby said once the camera blinked green. "I'm so glad to have you all with us tonight. Many, many things happened this week, and I'm so excited to share them with you. But before we get to that, our King has a few words for us. Your Majesty?" she said, turning around to invite the King over.

He smiled and walked confidently to the center of the stage. He had no notes with him.

"Good evening, everyone," he said, looking straight into the camera. "I have some good family news tonight. Princess Emilia's wedding to the Iranian Prince Kamran Ghorbani will take place in fifteen days. Wedding preparations are underway, and we hope that you will join us into wishing her a happy wedding and marriage." He paused. "Thank you." He dipped his chin and walked back to his seat next to his wife.

"Isn't that incredible?" Ruby chimed in. "I've seen the two lovebirds around the palace, and I can tell you they're completely in _love_!" She sighed happily and batted her eyelashes. Then she took a deep breath. "Now, without further ado, I'd like to invite Princess Elisabeth to join me here."

On cue, a small grey couch rolled in and stopped just behind Ruby. She sat on it and waited for Eliza to join her.

"Wow, I feel like it's been forever since we talked," she started. "Although it's been only a week. But so many things happened, right?"

Eliza nodded. "I feel like I'm living a whole month crammed in a single week," she agreed.

Ruby bubbled in chuckles. "So tell me. You've been going on _two_ dates every day since Monday, right?"

Again, Eliza nodded. "Yes, that's about right."

Ruby grinned and looked at the camera. "But don't worry, you'll read about all the details soon. _Illéa Weekly_ is following them everywhere." She looked back at Eliza. "Can you tease us with your favorite dates?" She wiggled her expressive eyebrows – People's magazine used to call her _Mother of Eyebrows_.

Eliza laughed softly. "I couldn't possibly choose a favorite one. But I had some great moments singing, painting, tasting wine, relaxing, and of course – and maybe this is the best one yet – I've been flying!"

"Flying?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"It was incredible! He's a pilot you know, in the Swiss Air force, and we did some acrobatic maneuvers. The last one was so scary, and I thought I was going to die of fright, but of course not. Raphael's a really good pilot, and I trust him," she finished, glancing quickly at him. She noticed also how Tom was trying not to punch him in the face at that precise moment. They had been seated next to one another. There would be blood later that evening.

"Oh wow, that _is_ amazing," Ruby said. She asked her many more questions, to which Eliza tried to go around the answers. She didn't want to tell the world her favorites. She didn't want to tell the world she had to marry for politics and alliances. And she didn't want to tell the world who was the best kisser or who would make the best husband. That was private. People could see her dates, but her thoughts, her opinions, and her heart were a private matter.

She didn't interview the boys because she didn't want to spoil the _Illéa Weekly_ magazine so she ended the Report with a couple of pictures of group activities around the Palace, while the Princess was on dates. The boys mostly placed soccer, played poker, or made kitten videos. That one was on their YouTube channel. Everyone _awed_ at the cuteness.

Once the ordeal was over, Eliza stayed back a little to chat with Ruby and Jade, and then she followed everyone outside the Report room for dinner.

There was electricity in the air among the boys. Clearly, Raphael had stayed super secretive about his date idea. And now that the others knew what he and the Princess had done, they were jealous. Well, _two_ of them were _very_ jealous. They couldn't compete with _that_.

"Guys, just chill, okay?" Latreall said. "It's not a contest." He paused. "Wait, actually it is." He grumbled something.

"Drop it, Lat," Caspian said. "There are three Alpha Males here, and there is going to be blood."

Cian snorted. "Maybe if they do draw blood, they'll be eliminated and there's more chance for us?" He shrugged.

Nikolai rolled his eyes. "Dream big, guys. Eliza saved Tom's ass twice. There's no way she's eliminating them for fighting for her. Let the best man win!"

Jericho laughed. "Can't they settle it with swords, or poker or something?"

"Guns," Hans said.

"Woah," Rance said. "Rock-paper-scissor should be enough."

Seb was not laughing. It wasn't funny at all. He had his date tomorrow. But he could never top those dates. Flying? _Damnit_.

"But you know what?" Niko said. "It's actually my turn, right now…" he blanched a little and walked over to Eliza. "Would you do me the honor of coming with me?" he asked her.

Eliza smiled. "Of course." She took his offered arm, and Niko quickly looked over his shoulder to the other guys. Jericho and Latreall offered him a thumbs-up and the couple climbed the stairs to the highest floor. They ended up in front of a small door, which Nikolai opened, and they found themselves on the roof of the Palace.

A checkered white and red tablecloth was covered with a platter of different finger foods and two glasses of wine.

"Sorry, my date idea does not top the wine tasting or the flying. But I'm not trying to impress you," he said.

Eliza squeezed his arm. "I love this," she said. "And it's nice to have just some alone time with one of my best friends." She offered him a light smile, and he smiled – yes, he actually smiled – back at her. They sat down and started eating.

"You know, it's really nice to have a friend like you," he said. "You didn't push me – or Jericho – away."

"What would I do that?"

He shrugged. "People in Russia would have probably stoned me." He chuckled dryly. Without humor. "At least we had some time to figure out what we wanted to do."

"And? Have you?"

He didn't answer right away. "Maybe. It depends." He paused, sipping his wine. "Jericho suggested I could be the Russian Ambassador for the Oceanic Nation. But we already have one. I can't just take that guy's job, you know?"

Eliza nodded silently.

"Besides. I'm not sure I want to go back to Russia."

Eliza was surprised to hear that. "Why not?"

"There's nothing for me there, anymore. My brother's gone. My parents will probably disown me or something. And I don't want to go to Oceania either. Too hot."

Eliza laughed softly. "You can stay in Illéa if you want. I'm sure we can find someplace for you. You can be _our_ Russian Ambassador."

Niko smiled softly. "That could be an idea. That would mean staying around here. I like that."

"Me too. And I'll need a friend in the future, too."

He sighed. "I need to think about it."

"Of course." They continued talking, choosing some lighter subjects, and ate every single piece of food they had. Around ten o'clock, they headed back to their respective rooms. Niko had a lot to think about. He didn't sleep much that night. But Eliza slept like a baby for ten hours straight.

* * *

 _ **Whohooo... the writing flow was flowing hard, so I wrote fast haha.**_

 _ **Thanks to Rysa for the flying date idea! And thanks to Sylëa for the date idea with Caspian, Oz for Lat's date, and Gummy for Tom's date in the previous chapters!** (I forgot to thank you, then^^) _

_**Hope you enjoyed this one, too! Who is your money on?**_

 _(and don't forget to check the aesthetic section^^)_


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

It felt really good to sleep in, on Saturday morning. Eliza woke up several times during the morning but was happy to be able to fall asleep again, each time. The covers were just too comfortable to leave. And it also felt good to hear the bustle around the Palace, and to be able to just lay there, not doing anything.

Eliza knew she had two more dates to go through with Seb and Jericho, but she didn't want to get up just yet. Just five more minutes… she took her phone and scrolled through her notifications for a while, but there was nothing really interesting popping up. Unless you counted the Maid of Honor dresses Millie had sent her _. 'Choose three so I can order them and you can try them on.'_ said the text message.

Eliza rolled her eyes. She really had other things to do.

Did she, though? Lying in bed was at the top of her list, right now.

"Okay, fine," she muttered. She chose three dresses from the ones Millie had sent and sent her choice to her sister. After that, she finally decided to get up. She kicked the covers away, and walked to the window to draw the curtains and open the window for some fresh air. When she noticed some of the boys playing soccer or lounging by the pool in their swimsuits, she grinned. She could watch them all day, to be honest.

Couldn't she keep them all?

But no. She couldn't. She had to choose only one. And she would be sending half of them home very soon. Like in two days. Her heart sunk in her chest. It was so weird to think that her International Selection was soon over. And so many things had happened in those few months.

Tom noticed her looking at them and he waved, smiling up at her. She waved back and quickly retreated to the safety of her room and bathroom. She took a quick shower and chose a comfy outfit for the day. It was eleven-thirty when she arrived at the brunch buffet and she decided to go for a hearty meal, since she wouldn't be eating anything until dinner that evening. She piled her plate with cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit salad, cheese, and added a cup of hot chocolate to her brunch. She sat down at the empty table, happy to have some more time alone and-

"Ah, there you are," Millie said, coming in with an armful of wedding magazines in her arms. "You slept in late."

"So?" Eliza asked, her mouth full of cinnamon rolls.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"It's Saturday."

Millie rolled her eyes. "There's my wedding to prepare!"

Eliza sipped her hot chocolate. "I'm sure Kamran has an army of Wedding Planners working on your wedding. All you have to do is show up."

Millie's shoulders slumped a little. To be honest, she wished she could decide more of what she wanted for her wedding. After all, you only get married once, right? At least when you're a princess… "There is still my dress to choose and all that."

"You haven't chosen it yet?" Eliza asked. "The wedding's in two weeks."

"I'm debating between two. That's why I need your help."

Eliza sighed. Fine, she could help Millie choose her wedding dress. She was only eating. "Okay, show me."

Millie smiled and showed her the two dresses she couldn't decide between. She listed the pros and cons of each, and after listening carefully – almost – Eliza told her which she preferred, knowing all too well that Millie would choose the other one, anyway.

"Perfect, thanks!" Millie said, standing to leave. "And your three dresses will be arriving on Monday. You'll try them out, and chose the one you prefer, okay?"

Eliza nodded, forking pieces of fruit in her mouth. Millie left the brunch room and went to do whatever she wanted to do, leaving Eliza blissfully alone to finish her meal.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Around two in the afternoon, Eliza was reading _Tales Untold_ in a lounging chair in the garden while the boys did their own thing. They knew her enough not to bother her when she was reading. It was a rare luxury, and they didn't want to take that away from her.

One, though, ventured out to her side. Sebastian sat on the chair next to hers, and just sat there, his shades on his nose, relaxing. Eliza noticed him, but didn't break her reading. After a few minutes like that, she turned her head towards him.

"Yes?"

Sebastian smirked. "I knew you'd talk to me first," he said. "I wouldn't dare bother you reading."

Eliza closed her book. "Date time?" she asked.

"Yep," he said standing, and offered her his hand. "If you'll follow me this way, Milady."

Sebastien and his big words and grand gestures. She liked it. Especially since he was the only one to do it. She took his hand and let him help her get out of the chair. "Take the lead," she said.

They walked through the garden and around the Palace to the front staircase, where the car was waiting for them, along with Jack and the _Illéa Weekly_ Crew, who took pictures of the couple coming over hand in hand – of course, Seb had not let go of Eliza's hand. They climbed in the car and drove for only twenty minutes.

They stopped in front a vintage-y looking building. But not Diner-cute vintage. More like 80's vintage. The Los Angeles Arcade was well known around all Illéa, and Sebastian had rented the whole place just for them, with unlimited games, popcorn and other snacks.

Eliza grinned. "I've read about this place, but never came before."

"Good, that makes two of us," Seb replied, a sly grin on his face. "Shall we, Milady?"

"With pleasure," she replied joining his game.

He invited her to go in front of him, his hand a light guide hovering on her lower back. They greeted the owner, you told them about the place and everything they could do, and left them to their amusement. At first, Eliza didn't know where to look at. There were so many lights, and games, and inviting music. She asked Seb to choose the first game, because she had no idea what to start with.

He obliged and suggested the pinball machine to start with. He showed her how to play, and then she played after him. It took several times to get the flippers to work well with her reflexes, but she managed; for fifteen minutes they played one after the other, trying to get the highest score each time. At some point, both were tired of the game and changed. But that was the purpose of an arcade place: you could change games as often as you wanted, especially when you were the only ones using the place.

After that, they went from Pac Man, to Mario Kart, and to other games.

"What's that one?" Eliza asked, pointing at a large game machine.

"DDR," he replied.

She raised an eyebrow. "Not helping."

" _Dance Dance Revolution_." He chuckled. "Do you want to try it?"

"Uh, sure. We just dance?"

He explained to her the concept of the game, and they started out with some easy moves, the upbeat music leading them into the choreography.

"Okay, this is too easy," she said. "Level it up!"

"Okay," he said, typing something on the screen. "Let's do this."

They waited for the game to start, and they both gave all their efforts into it. The levels passed on one after the other, until they both started to be out of breath.

"You still on?" he asked, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "There's no way I'm letting you win this one."

He grinned and they continued. But came a moment when he couldn't go on anymore. The steps were too fast, he was too exhausted, and she was too good. He stopped in the middle of the routine, panting, letting her finish alone.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I won!"

"I let you win," he said.

"No you didn't," she pushed him playfully. "I saw you give up during the last routine!"

He grinned. "Okay, fine. You win, Milady." He sighed, still trying to catch his breath. "Would you like a drink or something?"

She nodded, also trying to catch her breath, her hands on her hips. He led the way to the other side of the arcade building, where the small bar/restaurant was. They asked for two cokes and the owner gave them vintage glass coke bottles. It tasted even better in glass. Everyone knows that.

"So," he said once they had both emptied half their bottles in one take. "Not too tired after a week of dating twelve guys?"

She chuckled lightly. "Kinda," she replied honestly. "But all the dates were so different, it was fun to do all that."

"I can imagine." He paused. "But what do you prefer, honestly? Life as a college student, free, with exams and local house parties, or life as a Princess, with your love life for all to see, but you can do pretty much all you want?"

"Hmmm," Eliza said, thinking. She didn't answer right away, trying to tidy her thoughts. How many times had she wished to go back to her life in Waverly? "My heart would say the college student, but my mind would say Princess," she finally said. "Both have their ups and downs…"

"True," he said.

"What about you?" she asked. "You did both, too, right?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I did. And I prefer the commoner life. Even if I want to be a real support to my brother, you know? But I always find my true self when I work with the animals at the sanctuary. When I come back home, I feel like I'm wearing some kind of costume…"

Eliza nodded, and they were silent for a moment, both sipping their cokes. "And what about here?" she asked. "Do you feel like yourself, or with a costume on?" she needed to know. If she was going to choose her Elite, she better have all the facts available to her.

Sebastian looked up and his deep blue eyes met hers. He reached across the table for her hand, and she let him take it. "I only feel myself when I'm with you," he said. "And I know this might sound cliché, or maybe I'm telling you this too late into the game, but my feelings for you have grown since I came here. I also know that several other guys are really fighting for you and to get your attention, but it's your choice to make." He paused, searching her eyes, and to let her say something. But she didn't. So he continued. "Look, I know you may have already chosen the One, even though you have to choose your Elite, for the sake of the game, but-"

"You said _game_ twice, Seb," Eliza cut him a little coldly. "Is that really what you think it is? A game?" She let go of his hand and tucked it against her chest.

"No! No, that's not what I meant." He sighed. "I know it's not a game to you. But it is for the rest of the country. It's a TV show."

Eliza frowned. "Do you know what my father gave me, on Monday?" He shook his head. "Folders with information on each one of you, your country, what you could bring to the table. Pros and Cons of marrying each one of you."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. You think my love life is for all to see. But don't you see? It's all a big masquerade to make alliances. War is well underway in New Asian and Mongolia, and people are taking sides. Why do you think my dad made me go through this Selection, now, of all times?" She paused. "Coincidence? I think not." She sighed and looked away. She had never told anyone about all this. Let alone any of the Selected.

"I didn't know," he said. "But I did wonder…" He pushed his empty bottle to the side and leaned on the table. "And I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was this complicated." He paused. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Start by not calling this whole thing a game."

He nodded once. "Noted. Anything else?"

She sighed and looked at him again. "Don't tell anyone what I just told you."

He nodded again. "I promise."

Eliza finished her coke, and they slowly made their way back home. Thank goodness the _Illéa Weekly_ crew was too far to hear their private conversation. They talked about some of their college memories on the drive back, and then joined the others in the garden, who were all playing a game of UNO with many new stupid rules added the game as they played.

Like if you were the last one to hit the pile when a 5 appeared, you had to draw two cards. Or if you uttered a sound when a 7 was in the game, you drew three cards. You could cut through with an identical card even if it wasn't your turn, and you could pile up an unlimited amount of +2 and +4 until no one had one in his game anymore, and the poor last person had to draw sixteen or twenty-four cards at once. Anyway, they seemed to be having a great time, and all had a large number of cards in their hands.

When Eliza and Seb arrived, Tomlin offered to give half his card to Eliza, since he had at least thirty, and Caspian and Cian both gave some of theirs to Seb so they could all play until it was time to get ready for dinner.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

When Eliza went down for dinner, Jericho was waiting for her at the entrance of the dining room.

"This way, Your Royal Highness," he said with a warm smile. She smiled back and followed him outside, where the car, again, was waiting for them. They drove to the seaside, to the port, and there, the Royal Sailboat was all lit with hundreds of lights.

Eliza smiled. She hadn't set foot on their Sailboat in years. A decade, even, maybe. She had completely forgotten about it, to be honest. Her father had taken her and her sister many times when they were little girls. But as they grew up, either he didn't have the time anymore, or they had other things to do.

"Wow," she said. "This is really nice."

He chuckled. "When I found out you guys had a sailboat, I just _had_ to see it and take you on it." He offered her to go first, and he followed her on it. It would be just the two of them – plus Jack, of course, third-wheeling, as always – since he knew how to pilot a boat, thanks to living surrounded by water.

At the back, there was a table along the benches, with a bottle of champagne and flute glasses. Jericho went to the ship's wheel after Jack had unfastened the ropes holding the boat to the land. The Illéa Weekly crew would be following in a small zodiac. Not for too long, though, just to snap some pictures of the couple, and then returning back to the Palace. This was their last night, and they had one more interview to do before leaving in the morning: Jericho's.

The prince piloted the boat out of the port and into the bay. The sun was dipping on the horizon, and the whole sky was gold and pink, with little light blue and gray clouds scattered here and there. It was a magnificent night to go out sailing, even though the September air was a bit chilly. Once Jericho had chosen a nice spot not too close from the shore, he let down the anchor, and he and Eliza went to sit at the back, facing the sunset.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," she said, breathing in the salty fresh ocean air.

"Yeah, I was hoping the weather would be nice tonight, and would hold like this all evening." He paused. "So, hungry?"

"Always," Eliza replied, chuckling.

"Great. Me too." He opened the tabletop, and underneath was a huge freezer with at least fifteen different kinds of ice creams. "Ice cream sandwiches," he said proudly. "As a little wink to our first date to the Ice Cream Museum."

Eliza laughed. "Ice cream sandwiches are the best meal one can have. Seriously."

"I'm glad you like it," he said. He gave her two cookies to make the top and bottom parts of her sandwich and then let her choose which ice cream she wanted first. Because, of course, they would have more than one ice cream sandwich during the evening.

Theyy talked until the sun dropped into the ocean, wrapping themselves with blankets at that point, and continued talking until only the stars lit the sky.

"I'm still trying to figure out why you didn't eliminate us when you found out about… uhm…"

"You and Niko?" she prompted gently.

He nodded. "Why?"

Eliza shrugged and kept her eyes on the stars. "Well, for one, I know a little bit about the Russian Empire and how their views are a bit… how do I put this… homophobic? I didn't want Niko to go back there like this. You both needed time to figure things out."

Jericho nodded. "Thanks, I guess…"

They were both silent after that, but it was a comfortable silence. The waves lulled them in relaxation.

"You know," Jericho whispered, afraid to break whatever spell was around them, "I thought I'd get really quickly homesick. But we did so many things, and I found with Niko, and I barely thought of home…"

"I'm glad to hear that," Eliza said, matching his whisper. "That means Illéa is a good place."

Jericho chuckled. "It is." He paused. "Nikolai is still debating to stay here or go some other place. But if he doesn't was to come to Oceania, I'll try to convince him to stay here. He needs a friend like you."

Eliza smiled. "I'd like that. He's really a good guy."

"Yeah, but sometimes he just doesn't know it."

They both chuckled at that, and Eliza shivered from the chilly ocean breeze.

"Maybe we should head back," Jericho suggested, to which Eliza agreed. He went to the ship's wheel and Eliza joined him, sitting near him wrapped in a blanket. An hour and a half later, they were home. He walked her to her room and bid her goodnight. She thanked him for the lovely evening, and bid him goodnight, too.

* * *

 _ **Yay! another chapter written in one day hahaha... so... all the date are done. Eliminations are in the next chapter... Who would be your ideal 6 Elite?**_

 _ **Also, tomorrow and Saturday I'm going to decorate my first wedding with my new Wedding Decoration business, and I can't wait! I'll see you all next week with the next** [ELIMINATION] **chapter...**_

 _ **Don't forget your Interviews, I'll be working on the Illéa Weekly next week, too! Thanks a lot for your collaboration ;) See you soon!**_


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

Thirteen jack-o-lantern were lined up in the garden, each with a burning candle inside. They had spent the Sunday afternoon carving the pumpkins, and each one was different from the others, ranging from scary faces to fancy lace. Andromeda had come out to choose her favorite. Nikolai and Tomlin were both helping her walk down the steps, and she was wrapped in a thick shawl, but the smile on her face was heart-warming. It was a good day for the queen mother, and she was making every minute count.

She sat on an armchair the boys had taken out for her and she carefully looked at each pumpkin, commenting on them, and having a good laugh out of it.

"Who did the cat?" she asked.

"You have to choose one first before we tell you who did what," Eliza said, standing next to her grandmother with a hand on her frail shoulder.

"A-ha," she said, unamused. "You think I would be biased?" she raised an eyebrow and everyone chuckled.

"We don't want to take that risk," Alek said.

"Hmm. Alright." She took her time choosing the best pumpkin, but they were all fun and creative. How could she choose? She knew now how Eliza felt about her Selection. How could she choose? These young men were all perfect in their own ways. "Okay," Andromeda finally said. "I have chosen the prettiest pumpkin."

Tomlin rattled his fingers on a table. "Drum roll!"

Andromeda smirked and looked at the boys being nervous. If they were nervous about a pumpkin, she couldn't imagine what it would be like when Eliza would choose her One.

"The map of the stars is the prettiest!" she finally said.

"YESSS," Caspian said, making a little victory dance.

The others applauded in fair play, and Andromeda asked who did what. Hans had carved Van Gogh's Starry night; Tomlin had carved the cat, trying to replicate Mistress Pebbles (although it looked more like Adern since it was orange; the two mice kissing were, of course, by Raphael; Eliza had carved the Cheshire Cat, and then Andromeda forgot the rest. She was too tired to memorize it all, but she was glad she could be the judge.

They were sitting around her, talking, laughing, and enjoying her company when a couple of footmen arrived with pumpkin pies and hot tea for everyone. Andromeda stayed with them for as long as she could, then she bid them good evening and went to lie down, exhausted after spending a couple of hours with all these overly excited young people.

The others stayed outside until they had to get ready for dinner, knowing all too well that this may be their last time all together like this. Soon, Eliza would be choosing her Elite.

-x-x-x-

Monday morning was awkward for everyone. Most of them woke up before dawn, too nervous to sleep a minute more. Soon, half of them would be eliminated and would go home. The wait was excruciating.

Eliza practically didn't sleep. She stayed up until four in the morning, going over the files her father had given her and adding her own comments, impressions, cons, and pros. It was the longest and worst night of her existence. She had postponed so long to read those files and almost regretted it afterward. She knew she had to put Illéa first, but she didn't want to do it.

All in all, she had only three hours of sleep, and it was plainly visible on her face. She tried to hide the bags under her eyes with makeup, but you can't erase yawning, now can you?

She took a quick – cold – shower to help wake her up and put on a comfortable outfit for the day. Once ready, she took a deep breath and headed downstairs. Everyone was already there, their breakfasts half-eaten. All the heads turned at the same time to look at her coming in. Clearly, the tension was electric, and they were all in the expectation. The waiting was killing them.

Eliza simply smiled at them, went to the buffet to fill her plate – which she wouldn't be able to eat anyway, since her stomach was in knots – and sat among them, at their table.

"Hey," she said. "Sleep well?" Stupid question.

Tomlin looked at her like 'are you kidding me?' and drank his coffee. He might be an Englishman, but that morning, he would need coffee to survive the day. Black coffee. With no sugar in it.

"Yeah, me neither," she said, pushing her fruit salad around her plate.

"So, how do we do this?" Cian asked, trying to stay as relaxed as possible. "Is there anything official you have to do?"

Eliza chuckled. But it was more of a nervous laugh. This was it. Should she just skip the Elite altogether and just choose her One, now? Like, on the spot? She knew her grandmother didn't have much time left, and she wanted to be sure she knew who she was going to choose. But no. The whole country was waiting for the Elite announcement, too.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "How do you want me to do it?" she asked. "You want me to name the six leaving or staying?"

"Staying."

"Leaving," they said at the same time.

"Now?" she asked.

They nodded. Better get this done with quickly, so they could go back to their usual daily routine. Packing, or chilling in the Palace.

"Okay," she said slowly. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. "The six people who are staying will be Latreall, Cian, Sebastian, Raphael, Alek, and Tomlin." She let out her breath. "There, I said, it." She couldn't meet their gazes, right now. She knew some of them would be disappointed.

"Fair enough," Nikolai said. "Totally predictable, too." He chuckled. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to stay in Illéa. The Russian Empire will not welcome me back. I talked with my cousin Aleksey and he told me what to expect if I came back home."

"Of course," Eliza said. "I'll ask Henri to find you some accommodations."

"Thank you," Nikolai said.

Caspian sighed. "I'll just go clean up my mess back home," he said.

"Cas, I'm really sorry," she said. "But with all that drone thing, it wouldn't be good for Illéa to partner up with New France like that."

Caspian nodded. "Yeah, of course. I figured." He snorted. "Thanks for keeping me this long, though."

Henryk chuckled lightly. "I'll just go back to doing what I do best: being a lawyer." He forked some food into his mouth. "I would never have been a good consort, anyway. But rest assured that Poland will stand by your side whatever happens. I'll make sure my Uncle remembers that."

"Thanks, Henryk," Eliza said. She tried to offer him a smile, but it was pretty wobbly. "As for the others, I'm really grateful I got to know you all. I had some great moments with you, and I do hope we will stay in touch."

They nodded and finished their breakfasts in silence. The six Elite were breathing a bit better, but still. They would have to say goodbye to some good friends, and goodbyes were not an easy thing, no matter who it was.

Once everyone was done eating, the six boys leaving went to their rooms to pack their things. The others headed to the Men's Parlor for some time with Henri. There were some things he had in mind just for the Elite. Being a Prince Consort was not an easy task, and there were still lots of things to do.

Eliza went by her father's desk to drop off the Eliminated files. She wouldn't need those, now, anyway. Then she went to her own office, and she just sat there, staring at nothing in particular out the window. At some point, she fell asleep, her head bobbing left and right on her high backrest.

"Oh my God, Eliza what did you do!" Millie exploded, coming into the room like a tornado, waking Eliza up with a jump.

"Huh?" she said, coming back from the dream world. "What's going on?"

Millie practically threw the tablet on her sister's desk. "Press _play_ ," she ordered.

Eliza obliged. The screen lit with a familiar face talking from his home in Los Angeles. Alaric Rockefeller.

" _Before diving into the subject at hand, let me introduce myself. My name is Alaric Rockfeller, Duke of the Rockefeller family, and ex-boyfriend of Her Royal Highness Princess Emilia Margaret Jane Schreave. But you already know her. The Spare who blessed our children with new schools_."

He paused, and images from school openings came into view.

" _But don't be fooled by her so-called good deeds_ ," he continued, speaking over the images. " _Yes, she has been raising funds for these schools, but only half of what she raised really went to these schools."_ The pictures changed to Millie, and zoomed on different accessories –shoes, bags, scarfs, … " _The rest went in her personal bank accounts, paying for extravagancies like Jimmy Choo's, Gucci scarves and whatnot."_ Back to Alaric in his room, next to his computer. " _I have proof here, showing Millie's accounts. She is a thief, a fraud, and you do not want her to become your Queen."_

Pictures of Millie drunk – all taken by Alaric himself – appeared after that.

" _Trust me. You do not want to have Millie on your side. Prince Kamran, if you are watching this, think twice before marrying her. If you do, though. Good luck. And keep a lock on your coffers."_

The video cut there.

"You told him?" Millie asked coldly. "I was going to start repaying."

"I swear I didn't tell him anything," Eliza said calmly. Even though the truth was that _he_ had told Linus, who had told her. "Look. I had no idea he was going to do this. I'm sorry."

"Yeah right." She huffed. "This could totally make my wedding blow off."

"Yeah, it could," Eliza agreed.

"Eliza, what am I going to do? What have I done to deserve this? Seriously?"

Eliza scoffed, earning her a dark look from Millie. "Sorry." Eliza sighed. "Besides breaking up with him when he proposed, I don't see anything else."

Millie made a face. "You know why I broke up with him."

"Actually, no. I don't."

"He was too nice." She paused. "That's the official excuse."

"And the non-official?" Eliza asked, curious, as Millie sat on the couch.

"Mom suggested it. She knew that if I was single, dad could marry me off to some Crown Prince or something." She sighed. "Look how that turned out."

"What do you mean? I thought you loved Kamran?"

Millie shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know. Maybe?" she sighed. "I'm ruined, Eliza."

"Maybe not," Eliza replied. "Maybe Kamran will never see this video."

"Not a chance. It's been shared thousands of times, and he's always on social media." She sighed and took the tablet again. "And now I can say goodbye to my beautiful wedding dress." She took a deep breath and let it out all at once. "Dad's going to be furious."

"Dad?" Eliza chuckled humorlessly. "Everyone's gonna be furious. The schools, the people, the whole country, even. Hell. The whole world. You were supposed to be the perfect Princess."

"I am." She snorted. "Was. I guess you beat me to it, huh?"

"No, I didn't." Eliza looked at her little sister. Yes, she had totally screwed up, and Karma was a b**ch, sometimes. "Well, look on the bright side," Eliza said. "You won't have to wear hijabs…"

"I was getting the hang of it," Millie said. Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the screen and became a little bit pale. "It's Kamran. See? I told you he would see the video." The phone continued to ring. "Should I answer?"

"Yes! Answer that," Eliza said.

"Hello?" Millie said, wary. She walked out of the office to have some privacy.

While she was gone, Eliza texted Alaric.

 _Al, what have you done?_

The reply came pretty quickly.

 _Linus was going to expose her. He can't do it anymore, so I did it. She deserved to be exposed, Eliza. I'm not sorry._

Eliza shut her phone off and sighed. He could have waited until after she was married. She didn't know Alaric was this much vengeful. He was supposed to be the sweet guy in their couple. Eliza went back to her report reading, when Millie came back, her phone in her hand. Eliza looked up.

"Well?"

"He said he doesn't care what I did, he still wants to marry me," she blurted out. "And that he will do all he can so that his father doesn't see the video."

"See? Not so bad after all." Eliza paused. "You'll just be glad you'll leaving the country, after this."

"You don't say." Millie rolled her eyes. "Hey, I saw some of the guys packing their suitcases. You already eliminated them, and it's only nine in the morning?"

"They wanted to know as soon as possible. We'll announce it on the Report on Friday. There is no need for the whole world to know already, though," she said, eyeing her sister.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to say anything."

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

After lunch, the whole group of goys – Elite and Eliminated – with Eliza headed to the airport where a couple of Royal Jets were waiting for them. One for the European guys – Caspian, Hans, and Henryk – and the other one for Jericho and Rance. Nikolai would be staying in Northern Angeles, in the Schreave vacation home, until more permanent accommodations could be found.

How Eliza hated goodbyes. But she had eliminated them for a reason: either their country would not bring a sufficient alliance, or she did not love them enough to consider marrying them. Sometimes it was both reasons. But she hoped they could stay friends and keep in touch in the future.

There were a lot of hugs, promises to write or call, and tears. The most heartbreaking goodbye was Nikolai and Jericho, of course. The others felt bad watching them say goodbye to each other, so they turned around, giving them their privacy. Hans and Rance also had to say goodbye, and Eliza felt as though her heart was going to fall apart.

Rance and Jericho boarded their designated jet, and the three others the one bound for Europe, and Eliza and the seven boys – Nikolai included – watched the jets soar away. The sun was shining brightly in their faces, and they couldn't watch for very long. She was the first one to turn away and climb into the Limo. The others followed a couple of minutes later, and the chauffeur brought them back to the Palace.

The ride back home was silent. As much as the remaining Elite were relieved and glad to be staying longer, they were sad to be losing some good friends. And they knew that the tension between them would be growing even more, and fast.

By the time they arrived back home, it was time to get ready for dinner. And say goodbye to Nikolai who would be leaving for the royal vacation house after dinner. The atmosphere in the dining room was awkward, but they all survived through it. Eliza escorted Niko to the waiting car outside and hugged him fiercely.

"Thanks for everything," he said, trying not to cry. Because Nikolai never cried.

"Thank _you_ ," she said. "I hope we'll see each other soon."

"We will," he said. "And I'm definitely being the flower boy at your wedding."

Eliza took a step back to look at Niko and noticed he was smirking, so she burst out laughing. "You will definitely be at my wedding," she said.

Niko straightened up and sighed. "I better be going."

Eliza nodded and let him go. He climbed into the limo, his bags following in the trunk of the car, and he was gone. Just like that.

She stayed on the stone steps and just sat there, even after the car was gone after the dust of the gravel had settled down. She just sat there, staring at nothing in front of her. She felt as if there was an emptiness in her heart that she would never be able to fill again.

The chilly September night air was creeping into her bones, and she was shivering slightly when someone wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and sat next to her. He also gave her a warm cup of chamomile tea.

Raphael didn't need to say anything. He knew how hard it was to let friends go. But he also knew that these next few days would be crucial. Once he was comfortably seated and also wrapped in a blanket, he wrapped an arm around Eliza and gently pulled her against him. She lay her head on his shoulder, and they just sat there, not talking, drinking tea, and waiting for the cold to make them go back inside.

The End of the Selection was just starting.

* * *

 _ **There, the Elite is on the way...**_

 _ **A special thanks to**_ Sylëa _ **,**_ PrincessLilyCarter _ **,**_ Nikt Wazny _ **,**_ Kay Sorceress Supreme _ **,**_ OctaviaWithStarsForEyes _ **, and**_ Easily Shookt Boy _ **for Caspian, Hans, Henryk, Jericho, Nikolai, and Rance. It was a pleasure writing these boys!**_

 _ **Only a few chapters left... But there is some good news I want to share with you... even though this story is soon going to be ending, I want to announce my next SYOC... yes, I'm starting another one** (but not until TWIW is done, don't worry!) **and it will be named GIVE ME SOME SPACE!** (and yes, it will take place in space...)_

 _ **All the info you need** (reservation list, the website with worldbuilding, aesthetics, characters, and form) **is on my profile. Go check it out! and if you do want to submit, let me know :)**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

The palace was much more silent now, with only six remaining guys. And it was awkward. What was she going to do with them in the next days and weeks? Would it really still be weeks? Well, she couldn't eliminate the Elite until the next Report, since that was when the official announcement would be made.

Should she go through formal dates again? Like she had just done?

Or should she just ignore them during the week and see who seeks her out?

Yes, probably that. Because she had lots of things to do. And she had her grandmother to see as much as possible, too. She knew Andromeda wouldn't be around for much longer, so she wanted to spend all the time that she could with her.

And that day would be no exception. But first, breakfast with the guys. She headed to the dining room and was surprised to see only Latreall, Cian, and Sebastian, deep in conversation about something. She smiled. Seb always took younger people – even only a year younger – under his wing and treated them like a brother.

"Hey," she said, sitting at the table after filling her plate with cinnamon rolls. "How are you doing?"

"Very good," Seb said, sipping his coffee. "Sleep well?"

Eliza shrugged. "No really." She sighed. "So, where is everyone else?"

Lat looked around the room. "No idea."

"But it's us against them, anyway," Cian added.

Eliza raised a questioning eyebrow. "What do you mean? You're all in the Elite."

Seb chuckled. "Yeah, well… Just a feeling, I guess." He sipped some more coffee as Latreall forked some blueberry pancakes in his mouth.

"I wish we had these, back home," he hummed, savoring the sweetness of the maple syrup. "Definitely taking the recipe back home with me."

Eliza didn't comment on that, but he seemed pretty eager to get back home.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

After breakfast, she decided to get some work done, because now that the elimination had been done, she could breathe easier and focus better on reports and other numbers in front of her.

She poured herself a glass of water to have beside her and went to work. This was a political report on the Mongasian War. Nothing was getting better, and it seemed Russia and the Oceanic Union were making their own moves, now that the two Princes were eliminated, while S.A.U.S was sending troops to Mongolia to help. Eliza made a list of the Elite to see on which side their country stood in the war, and she was pleased to see that five out of six of her Elite were neutral. Only Latreall, from Spain, was on New Asia's side.

And the Mongolians didn't have many allies. Maybe if Illéa sided with a neutral country they could take a side? But then she remembered that her father had made a deal with Australia, and they were on New Asia's side.

But then again, her father had made the deal. Not her. She could always retract from the deal. It wasn't even an alliance. Right? She sighed. King Oliver had done many things during his reign that she wouldn't have done the same way. Now she would have to use her political science knowledge – thank God that was going to be useful, _finally_ – to do some changes.

But first, she had to be crowned Queen. And marry one of the guys. Right. There was still that.

She continued to make some notes and read through the reports until she had to go to the bathroom – thanks to drinking water. But afterward, instead of going back to her office to continue working, she found herself heading to her grandmother's room. She knocked on the door and waited for the handmaid to open it.

She did and invited her inside. To Eliza's surprise, Millie was already there, sitting on a chair near the bed and laughing softly with Andromeda as they looked at some book or something. Eliza hesitated, but when Andromeda saw her, she smiled.

"Elisabeth, darling," she said. "Come. We are looking at old photos."

Eliza walked to the other side of the bed, still a bit wary of her sister. They were indeed looking at old pictures, from when Eliza and Millie were very young, under ten years old, and when they were at their summer home, in northern Angeles. They looked so happy and innocent, and _best friends_. Two little redheads as cute as kittens.

"Do you remember when all three of us took the boat and went to sea?" Andromeda said. "Emilia, you were so scared that a shark would eat us up, and Elisabeth, you just held her hand and said you'd fight the shark off." She chuckled softly and took her two granddaughters' hands in her old wrinkled ones. "I know it's been hard these past few months and years," she started. "You two went on so different paths, and you will stay on those different paths."

Eliza and Millie exchanged a glance but then focused on their grandmother. They kind of had an idea of where she was going, though.

"But please, make sure you always have each other's back, no matter where you are in the world." She paused, searching for their eyes, making sure she was getting their full attention. "I won't be around much longer, so please promise me this," she said.

Eliza and Millie looked at each other. True, the past few months had been open war between them. But they could both do an effort, especially since Millie was soon leaving for the other side of the planet.

Millie was the first one to nod. Slowly, but it was still a nod. She looked at Eliza who nodded too. Fine, she could do that for her Grandmother, if not for Millie. She would be gone soon, anyway, and both would be too busy to phone or write, at any point.

"Okay. I promise," Eliza said, echoed by Millie.

Andromeda sighed and smiled. "Thank you, girls." She closed her eyes a moment and then her breathing was slow and regular. She had fallen asleep.

The sisters tiptoed out of the room.

"How long do you think she has?" Millie asked softly.

"I don't know, but not long," Eliza replied. "I just wish she could live long enough to see the end of my Selection, so she would know who I choose. Maybe I want her blessing for this. I don't know."

"Oh come on," Millie said, rolling her eyes and starting down the hall. "Just make your choice, already. Just do _eenie meenie minie moe_ , and you choose your guy."

Eliza chuckled bitterly. "If only it was this simple. There are kingdoms and a war to take into consideration. I can't just pick one. I have to choose carefully."

Millie was silent for a moment. "Well, then pick the _politically correct guy_ , then just keep a boyfriend on the side."

Eliza snorted. "That would be quite scandalous… but tempting nonetheless."

Millie smirked. "I do have good ideas from time to time, you know?"

"Speaking of bad ideas, did dad see the video?"

"I don't know," Millie said. "But I don't really want to ask him to make sure…"

"Speaking of the devil…" Eliza whispered as they saw their father storm down the hall.

"In my office. Now. Both of you," he ordered and they followed him.

He sat at his desk while Millie and Eliza sat in the facing chairs.

"What the hell is this?" he asked handing a tablet to Millie with the video on _pause_.

"Uhm… I don't know?" Millie stumbled with her words.

Oliver shook his head. "I know you know what it is." He sighed. "Is it true, what he said?"

Millie looked at Eliza for help. She had just promised their grandmother she would have her back, right?

"Dad," Eliza started. "Please don't believe everything you see on the Internet. Alaric went all out at Millie to get his own little vengeance after she dumped him when he proposed." She paused. "It's understandable."

"But is it true?" Oliver asked again. Yes, he would understand Alaric being angry, but to this extent? Really? He had been kind of promised a crown, though…

There was silence for some time, and Oliver waited, meeting their eyes in turn.

"No" Eliza said at the same time Millie said "Yes".

The Sisters exchanged a surprised glance. Both thought the other would say the opposite of what they had said.

"Is it true or not?" Oliver asked again, this time directing his question to Millie alone.

"Yes," she said. "But I'm paying them back, now. I promise!"

Oliver glared at her. "Do you know how bad this is for us?" he asked calmly. "You jeopardized our whole family. How are we ever going to be credible, now?" He sighed again and poured himself a glass of whiskey. Because whiskey always helps, and it never judges.

"You could just deny it," Eliza said. "Make a statement. Turn it around so that Alaric is the bad guy."

Oliver and Millie both looked at Eliza. Wait, what?

She shrugged. "Politics, diplomacy. A monarch should know how to navigate those waters, don't you think? Don't let a small video crush us to the ground."

Millie snorted. "Says the Princess who locked herself in her room form three days when she had bad publicity in the gossip magazines. Are you seriously serious, Eliza?"

Eliza shrugged again. "I was young and innocent. Now I'm just _and_." She paused. You want me to do a statement? Show them who's the boss?" this time, she directed the question to her father, who raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you? What did you do to my kindhearted daughter? Give her back."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "It's me, dad. Look, if I'm going to be Queen soon, might as well start now, don't you think?"

Oliver scoffed. "And since when do you want to step up so much? Last I heard, you didn't even want to be a princess."

"I don't have a choice, anyway. But weren't we talking about Millie's problem here? Who does the statement?"

"I will," Oliver said. "I'm still King, last I checked."

"Or it could be me…" Millie said.

"No," Oliver said. "You need to lay low for now, and repay those schools. You'll be gone soon, let's not make you leave in a bad way." He sighed. "You're dismissed."

Both girls stood to leave.

"No, not you Elisabeth."

Eliza sat back down, and both waited for Millie to be gone and the door closed.

"So, you want to step up, huh?" he asked. "What was that about?"

Eliza poured herself a glass of whiskey, sipped some and put the glass down. "I've been thinking recently, with the Elite and the end of the Selection soon, I need to look down the road a bit."

"Mh-hmm," Oliver mumbled. "And what have you thought?"

Eliza looked out the window. "I guess we – that's me and my future husband, whoever that is – will need a few months to settle down. Maybe tour Illéa to present the future prince consort, enjoy our last months of not being a Queen, and then maybe step up after a year or two. But a year or two goes fast."

Oliver stared at his daughter. She had grown up in the blink of an eye. She was no longer his little princess. Soon, he would have to bow to her. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly and sipped on his whiskey.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "In two or three years tops you want to kick me out of the picture?"

She chuckled. "I won't kick you out. That was how I saw it, down the road. But if you want to stay on your throne until you die, that's fine with me, too. Maybe having kids before being Queen could also be a good idea." She shrugged. "It's your call. But whatever you decide, I'll be ready for it."

Oliver nodded, impressed. "Okay, then. I'll let you know, Your Royal Highness," he sais without malice.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

It was the middle of the afternoon when Raphael retreated to his room. He needed some time alone to gather his thoughts and find out what his true feelings were. Yes, he loved her. Yes, he could see himself spend the rest of his days by her side. No, he didn't care about the title and crown. He would marry her even if she was a simple girl from Waverly. Or from anywhere, really. And flying with her was the best thing he had done during the Selection. She trusted him, letting him do the Drop. I mean, that was something, right?

He paced back and forth in his room like a caged animal. He needed to ger his thoughts out. On paper. He opened the nightstand drawer and took out his fountain pen and his notebook, then he sat at the desk. _His_ desk for the past few months.

He started the same as always, after writing the date at the top right corner.

 _Dear Diary,_

From there, the words flowed from his hand, faster than his mind could process. Not a problem. He would reread his words afterward. At some point, he went to open the window to let some fresh air into the room.

That's when he heard her laugh. The sweet melody of her happiness. He looked outside and saw her… walking alongside Tomlin. Of course, it had to be _him_. He balled his fists at his side and watched the couple walking hand in hand in the gardens. He knew his biggest rival was _him_. How could he compete against _him_?

The guy whom Eliza had saved his ass from behind eliminated. At least once or twice. But Raphael had taken her flying. He had saved her life, taking bullets for her. Literally. It _had_ to count for something.

He rubbed his still bruised ribs, knowing well that that flight hadn't been kind on his broken bones. It would take longer to heal, now. But oh well. Totally worth it. And what had Tomlin done for her? Beside sneaking her out the Palace and getting her high? Or drunk?

Raphael scoffed. Tomlin was not a suitable suitor.

The lieutenant went back to his desk to continue writing in his diary. But this time he was angry. There were ink blotches here and there, and his penmanship was more angular and hurried. He just hoped no one would read his journal. If they did, he would die of embarrassment on the spot.

After writing five pages at a fast pace, he ended his entry, closed the journal, and put it back in the drawer. He didn't even reread his words. If he did, he would get angry again. Right now he felt better, and he wanted to keep it that way.

He was staring out the window – now the couple was out of view and hearing – when a knock sounded on his door. He was surprised to find the other – _evil_ – redhead on the other side.

"Princess Emilia?" he said, suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

"May I come in?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied, stepping aside. Millie entered and got right to the point.

"What are you waiting for, actually?" she deadpanned.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Millie rolled her eyes. "About my sister. Everyone knows you love her. I mean, come on. You took a couple of bullets for her. Not everyone would have done that."

Raphael stared at the Princess, and then cleared his throat. "You are aware that she's the one to choose one of us. Not the other way around."

"I know, I know. But do something, dammit. Don't stay there staring outside. The others – Alek and Tomlin – are taking matters in their hands and seeking her out."

"Yeah, I saw that."

"And for your information," she said, "she's not going to seek anyone out. If you want to have a moment with her, it's your job. She wants to see who comes forward."

Raph frowned. "She told you that?"

"Mmm… more or less. But that's what I would do." She went to the window. "Look, the other reason I'm telling you this is because our grandmother isn't going to be around for much longer. And she really wants to know who Eliza is going to marry. So if you could just speed things up a little, that would be great." She eyed him. "Get a haircut. And ask Jack to pull some more strings for you, I don't know."

Raphael frowned. "But what else can I do? I'm just a selected…"

Millie sighed and rolled her eyes. "You really need help with everything, do you?" She turned around to face him. "For starters, tell her how you feel. Stop writing everything down in your diary–"

"How'd you know about my diary?" Raphael cut her, frowning.

"Gossip magazines," Millie replied, waving the issue away. "The point is, maybe if you tell _her_ your feelings instead of your notebook, that would help."

Raphael shrugged. "Maybe…"

"You're a soldier for crying out loud!" she said. "You've faced worse than telling a girl how you feel, haven't you?"

He shrugged again and nodded.

"Then just do go it. Now."

"She's with Tomlin right now."

"So?" she put her hands on her hips. "Then do it tonight. Or sometime this week. You don't have to plan the whole romantic setup, but you can. And just tell her."

Raphael took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll do it. Yeah."

"Good." Millie started for the door. "And don't forget to bring chocolate, Swisster Mister…" then she winked and was gone.

* * *

 _ **Whhooop, chapter 56 is out... only 4 chapters left** (yes, because I'm planning to end it on chapter 60, with or without an epilogue, I don't know yet). (oh and sorry there are no aesthetics for this chapter...)_

 _ **I'm trying to finish the Magazine before the end, but I still need some interviews... and if I don't get the replies, I'll have to write them, and it'll take me more time** (I already did 2 today) **...**_

 _ **aaaaanyway... I'm gonna put a poll on mt profile (just to satisfy my curiosity) for you to tell me who Eliza should end up with...** (it may take some time for the poll to show up... idk)_

 _ **#Tomliza – #Raphliza – #Elizalek – #Sebliza – #Latliza – #Cianliza**_

* * *

 _ **Okay and some really good news : for those who don't know **(or who haven't noticed) **, I posted the first chapter to my next SYOC "**_ Give Me Some Space! _ **", and I'm so excited for this story! it takes place in Space, in the year 2234 in the ILLEAN System, and you can reserve a spot to participate! But before you do, please check my profile for more info** (the link to the story's aesthetically pleasing website is there with all the info...) **.**_

 _ **Anyway, there are already 16/32 spots reserved, so don't miss your chance! ;)**_


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

The rest of the week went by without any major incident. Eliza let the boys come to her, and she didn't seek them out, even though she sometimes wanted to. But she stayed by her decision.

At some point on Wednesday, she went to check on Mistress Pebbles and her kittens but was surprised to see Tom was already there, playing with the kittens.

"Oh, hi," she said, coming closer. "I didn't know someone was in here."

Tomlin smiled at the sight of her. "Well hello there, milady."

She chuckled and sat on the floor opposite him, as Mistress Pebbles rubbed her head on her knee. She gently stroked her cat's grey head and the kittens, who weren't so wobbly on their legs anymore, and who were exploring her legs. Ash, the only female of the litter, tried climbing on her calves, digging her tiny claws in the Princess' flesh.

"Ouch!" Eliza picked up little Ash and put her on her lap, her skirt making a trampoline for the baby cat.

Tomlin chuckled. "I come here practically every day and I've seen them evolve from wobbly little worms to these cute little kittens." Clearly, the cats were used to him, climbing on his shirt and resting on his shoulders. "I was going to present Ash to Lady if you want to come?" he suggested.

Eliza nodded. "That's actually a really sweet idea."

"Excellent." He made sure there were no more kittens on him before he stood and held out his hand for Eliza, to help her stand up. She took it and kept Ash in the other.

Just as they were heading down the stairs, Raphael and Alek were coming up.

"Hey," Alek said in greeting. "Where are you guys going?"

"To make some presentations," Tomlin replied, showing Ash in Eliza's hand.

Raphael raised a confused eyebrow.

"To his horse," Eliza said. Yes, it was silly. But who cared right?

"Uhm, Eliza?" Raphael said. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Nope, my schedule is free, I think. Why?" she replied.

"Would you like to have dinner together?" He seemed nervous. But with two other Elite in the vicinity, no wonder. He was putting on the big game, and he knew it.

"Of course! That would be awesome!" she replied. "I'll see you at seven?"

He nodded, and Alek and Tomlin shared a wary glance. They would all need to step up their game, now.

Tomlin ushered Eliza away and they walked in companionable conversation to the stables. But the main focus of the walk was to make sure Ash didn't fall down from Eliza's shoulder, so it took them longer to get there. _Good. More time with Eliza_ , Tom thought to himself.

Once at the stables, with Ash safe on the princess' shoulder, they stopped by the apple bucket and Tomlin filled his pockets of them.

"Lady?" he called out to his horse, clicking his tongue several times.

Said horse recognized the voice and tongue clicking instantly and neighed in a happy greeting.

"There you are, girl," Tomlin said with a soothing voice. "Long time no see. How are the stable boys taking care of you?" He asked her.

Being the drama queen she was, she looked for the apples she knew Tom would have in his pockets with her nose.

"That bad, huh?" he asked, playing along. "They don't feed you enough?"

"Hey," Eliza said, ready to defend her stables.

But Tomlin put a finger to his lips and winked at her. "Play along," he mouthed as if the horse would understand him. He gave Lady an apple and looked at her from outside her stall.

"You look even fatter than the last time I saw you," he said. "You seem fed enough."

"Okay, so let me stop you right there," Eliza said. "First, you don't say to a Lady that she got fat. Second, when was the last time you took her out?"

Tomlin made a face. "Last time we went riding together?"

"But that was like weeks ago!"

"I know, I know," he said. "I had," he whispered, "other priorities."

Eliza snorted. "Do you hear that, Lady? He had _other_ priorities."

Lady snorted too and took a couple of steps away from Tomlin, eyeing him suspiciously.  
Tom tried to pet the forehead of his horse but she jerked her head away. "Aw, come on, Lady... I'm here now...?"

Eliza chuckled.

"Don't laugh," Tom said. "She's angry with me, now."

"Well, maybe you have to make it up to her, don't you think? Like, take her outside for a walk or something..."

"Good idea." He went to the wall to take a bridle and a lead rope and managed to coax Lady into coming closer with apples so he could put it on her.

Once that was done, the trio – with tiny Ash – went outside in the sun. Eliza showed Tom in which paddock he could let Lady free and, boy, was she happy to skip around in circles for some time.

"You really educated her like a true Lady," Eliza said sarcastically.

Tomlin shot her a glare but then laughed. "Yeah, well. She's still young. She has time to learn. Right?"

Eliza shrugged. "Some say the education of a horse is done in the early years."

"Hmm..." Tom said, pensive.

"Hey, I'm messing with you," Eliza said, pushing him playfully on the arm. "She's beautiful and well trained." She watched as the brown mare ran in circles with grace around the paddock. She and Tomlin had settled down in the grass in the middle of the field.  
After three or four rounds of the area, Lady came back to the couple, curiously sniffing at Eliza and Ash.

"Lady, meet Ash," he said. "Ash, this is Lady." He took his horse's hoof and Ash's tiny paw in each hand and made them touch 'hands'. "Now shake hands."

Eliza burst out laughing and Ash was startled by the sound and quickly found refuge under Tomlin's shirt.

"Hey, it's okay, baby girl," he said, soothing the kitten. "It's only Eliza laughing. You'll have to get used to it at some point."

Eliza laughed again, but tried to tone down the noise level. She was happy, she thought. Was it being outside and being silly? Or was it the sun and the beautiful day? Or was it because she was with Tomlin...?

Maybe a mix of the three above.

She ignored Tomlin staring at her with a grin. She noticed it, but she ignored him. She didn't want to be interrupted in her happiness just yet.

"Eliza?" Tomlin said.

The princess looked at him after a few more seconds of being alone in her mind.

He was at loss for words. With the sun just behind her, she was blinding. Literally. And she was beautiful. His heart sped up a little bit.

"I love you," he suddenly blurted out. It was not what he had wanted to say in the first place. Or was it? In truth, he didn't even know what he had wanted to say.

He noticed Eliza becoming a little pink around the edges – especially the tips of her ears – and he grinned. He scooted closer to her and took her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb on the smooth skin of the back of her hand and simply stared at her bottle-green eyes. And waited. He had always initiated their kisses up until now. Not this time. If she really wanted to kiss him, he would let her do it first.

It took a few handfuls of seconds, but Eliza leaned in. She pressed her lips on Tomlin's and closed her eyes.

Inside, Tom was screaming and dancing and doing backflips. He couldn't contain himself on the outside and he took the upper hand in the kiss. He slid a hand behind her neck and the other – completely forgetting Ash in the process – around her waist, and pulled her closer. They were a tangled mess for a minute, but then, by some miracle, he ended up on top of her in the grass, trying not to put his whole weight on her, propping himself up on his elbows.

He kissed her. And again. He couldn't have enough of her. Clearly, she was enjoying it, too, and thank God they were too far from the Palace to be seen.

They both needed a break to take in some fresh air, and Tomlin pushed himself up on his hands, still looming closely over her.

"What was that for?" Eliza asked with a grin.

"Making my point?" He replied.

" _Meow_!"

The tiny meowing of Ash brought them back to reality. Tomlin rolled away from Eliza, who tucked back her skirt over her legs. Somehow, it had come up during their little... adventure. Tomlin was looking for Ash in the high grass and finally found her. Lady was grazing a little further away, giving the couple some privacy.

Eliza checked her watch – still the same one, the one Raphael had given her – and noticed it was getting late, especially if they needed to take Lady back, and freshen up for dinner with Raphael.

Right at that moment, she wished she could spend the rest of the day with Tomlin. But the universe had other plans for her, right now.

She and Tom walked back to the stables with Tomlin and Lady, and once Lady was clean, filled with apples and back in her stall, Tomlin gently cornered Eliza against a wall and kissed her again. He wanted to make sure she would remember their moment together during her next date.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

And she did. For a while.

She met with Raphael at seven, knocking on his door.

He opened it after the second knock – her hand was still in the air ready to knock a third time – and grinned. Yeah, he was eager.

He had put on his military suit with his boots – _damn, those boots_ , Eliza thought, noticing them. She really loved them – and he offered her a bouquet of thirty-five red roses.  
"Oh, wow," Eliza said taking the large bouquet in her arms. Among the roses were tiny white flowers called 'baby's breath'. "They're beautiful, thank you."

They stepped down the hall and Raphael led the way outside. They followed a gravel path for half a mile until they were at a small old rotunda covered in vines  
Eliza raised an eyebrow. "I totally forgot we had one of those," she said. "Being away for so long, you kind of forget details."

Raphael grinned. "It's also kind of out of the way. You don't see it from the Palace. I found it when I was walking around early in the morning a couple of weeks ago." He paused. "Kinda fell in love with the place."

Eliza smiled. "I used to come to hide here to read in peace when I was a teenager," she said. "I love this place, too."

They continued walking and she noticed a table in the middle of the rotunda, set for two, with an empty vase filled with water. She smiled. Of course, he would think if that. She placed the roses in the vase and noticed a small flat present tied with a white bow sitting next to the vase. He really planned everything in advance. Cute.

"How long have you been preparing this?" She asked. She was sure he was going to say a week.

"Since yesterday."

She nodded, impressed.

Raphael saw three footmen arriving down the path with dinner. _Excellent. Right on time_ , he thought. He invited her to sit with him, and this time he had not made the mistake of sitting across from her, but next to her. _Fool me once, on you. Fool me twice, though..._  
The footmen set the first course in front of them and served some white wine. They left without a sound.

"Wow, this is very fancy," Eliza said. She couldn't resist comparing this date with the previous, much more spontaneous, one.

"I just wanted something nice, you know?" he said. They ate in an awkward silence their salad until both were done.

When the next dish came along, a normal conversation came back and the awkwardness was gone. He told her about his time in the Air Force, and why he had chosen to do that. He told her about his brother Timothy who was also his best friend.

"I wish you could meet him," he said. "I think you two would get along great." He chuckled. "At least you met my dad."

Eliza chuckled. "And you met all of my crazy family." She shook her head in dismay. "At least they didn't scare you away."

Raphael laughed. "Why? You think having the King of Illéa as a potential father-in-law is scary?" He chuckled. "It's terrifying."

"You think my dad is scary? Then you probably haven't met my mother. She and my sister are the scary ones."

Raph shook his head. "Your sister doesn't scare me. She may be a little bossy, but that's what little sisters do, I guess."

"Bossy with me?" Eliza inquired.

"With everyone," he corrected, not wanting to say too much about his encounter with the evil sister the previous day. "I feel like she just likes to get her way."

The princess snorted. "You don't say. She was the only princess around here for the past five years. Of course, she always got what she wanted and she was always the center of attention."

"While you were out there, getting a normal education." He paused. "Would you do it again, though? If you had known beforehand about the Selection and all."

"Definitely, yes. I wouldn't give up college years for all the money in the world. Or anything else, really."

She eyed the flat package still patiently waiting by the vase. "What's that?" She asked, curiosity taking over.

Raphael shrugged. "It's the journal I kept during the Selection. I started a new one when I first came here."

"And you already ran out of pages?" She asked. She could never finish a journal, whatever she did.

"Something like that," he said.

Just then, the footmen came to take back the plates and bring the cheese. Because of course, there would be a selection of Swiss cheese to choose from – or not, and try all of them – in a dinner with Raphael. The footmen left again, without a word.

For once this evening, the footmen had come at the wrong timing. The journal would have to wait a little while longer.

He told her which cheese was which – there was _Gruyère_ , _l'Étivaz_ , _Tomme Vaudoise_ , _Vacherin Mont d'Or_ , and many others Eliza couldn't remember – and she tasted a little bit of all.

"Okay so I have two favorites," she said at the end of the tasting session.

"Which ones? Let's see if we like the same..."

She pointed at two, not remembering the names.

" _Gruyère doux_ and _Tomme Vaudoise_..." he said, giving her the names. "Mine are the _Vieux Gruyère_ , and the _Tomme Vaudoise_ , too."

At least they were _almost_ on the same page with cheese.

Raphael waited for the dessert to come – three-tier chocolate fondue with fruit to dip into – and the footmen gone before pushing the journal to Eliza's side of the table.  
"It's for you," he said. "I want you to read it. Not now," he quickly added, "but when you're alone. And don't mind the smudges or the torn-off pages. You will find the raw me between these pages."

Eliza gently took the leather-bound book between her hands, feeling how smooth the cover was. She didn't undo the ribbon, waiting for later that evening.

"Thank you," she said. "Would you like to have it back once I'm done reading through it?"  
He thought for a moment. "Only when you decide who your One will be. If it's me, keep it. If not, I'd like it back..."

Eliza nodded. It made sense. They slowly ate the chocolate and fruit fondue until there was nothing left. They even gathered chocolate with spoons when there were no fruits left.

"Wow," Eliza said at the end of the meal. "I feel like I have a food baby right now," she added with a hand on her belly. "Let's go for a walk?"

Raph nodded. "Yeah, I think we need that, right now. I'll have the flowers and journal delivered at your room later tonight if that's okay with you...?"

Eliza nodded and they started on the path that had led them there in the first place. They stayed away from the Palace, keeping to the edge of the garden for privacy. With five other suitors in the vicinity, they wanted to be alone. Raphael slipped his hand in hers and she responded with a light squeeze. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, letting the early night sounds fill the silence. They walked to the small lake at the other end of the manicured garden where the still waters reflected the stars.

This _was_ a romantic date, there was no denying it. She quickly decided not to decide anything before reading the journal. She hoped it wouldn't be _too_ personal, though, because that would make things awkward. Like _really_ awkward.

They stopped at the edge of the water and Raphael wrapped his arm around her shoulders. A shiver ran down her spine, but she didn't know if it was due to the chilling air, or to having him so close to her. Probably both.

Like the gentleman he was, he took off his military suit coat and placed it over her shoulders with a grin. "It suits you."

"It's a little big," she countered with a sly grin and wrapped it firmly around her. "But I like it."

Without any preamble, Raphael stood right in front of her and kissed her. Very softly at first, tasting her chocolate-dipped lips. She kissed him back and a warm feeling spread through Raphael, starting in his abdomen and going to his toes and fingertips in a second. Her arms snaked around his neck while his went one around her waist and the other in her hair. Each kiss was always the best, and this time was no exception.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

The rest of the week went by without any important incidents, she kept to herself most of the time, and tried to read Raphael's journal. It was hard. It was Raphael as raw as could be. There were no limits. He had poured every single ounce of his soul onto these pages, and clearly, it was not meant to be read by someone else. _I mean, who would let someone read their most private diary filled with one's most private thoughts_? Eliza thought over and over while reading it.

She made the effort to read the whole thing. By doing so, she learned two things about the Swiss soldier.

One, that he was completely head over heels for her. But then again, that wasn't completely new. He had confessed his loved to her when he thought he was dying. And yes, he had saved her life. She needed to take that into consideration.

Two, that he was a jealous man. Clearly, he had trouble seeing her with the other guys of the Selection… _especially_ Tom.

It was understandable. When you love someone, you don't like to see them with your rival. But this wa N. As Seb would put it, _that was part of the game_.

She had to keep the journal until her final choice, though. Because the truth was, even if he had his faults, he was in the front runners of her choice. Next to Tomlin, and Alek. And maybe Seb, too. But oh well… For now, there was the Report to go to, where she would make the Elite choice known to the world…

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading! only THREE** (3) **chapters left...**_

 _ **also, check out Give Me Some Space if you haven't already, it's my new SYOC, and there are still a couple of spots left.**_

 _ **speaking of, you HAVE TO go check Sylëa's alternated TWIW ending, linking GMSS to it... it's really fun! also, she wrote it completely in English! yay! french speaking girls**_ EN FORCE _ **... anyway, go read it it's really good!**_

 _ **I swear, the Magazine is underway... I just have a few more things to write for it... and my life is REALLY busy at the moment...**_

 _ **see you soon!** (next chapter I post will be Chap 3 of GMSS)_


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

The "I knew it!" of Ruby on the Report when Eliza announced the Elite to Illéa – and to the world – made her cringe. Was she so easy to read?

And Ruby also reminded her about Millie's upcoming wedding, the next week. How could she forget that, seriously? The three maids of honor dresses had come during the week and Millie had insisted to be there when her sister tried them on. Eliza didn't care, really, which one she wore. All three fit her well. So she decided to let the bride-to-be decide on the dress, and Eliza was fine with that. There were other things to do, like... A bachelorette party?

When Eliza asked Millie if she wanted one, at first Millie said _no_. Besides, who would she invite? Her _'friends'_ were not real friends, anyway. Just people who wanted to be seen with the Princess.

But Eliza still decided to organize something for the sister. On Tuesday, the day before Millie would leave for the Iranian Empire to get ready for the wedding, Eliza invited Millie and Andromeda to go eat at a nice little restaurant in Los Angeles, a place where they could eat in privacy, without anyone knowing they were there.

Jack made sure to send a couple of guards ahead to secure the perimeter, and then all three ladies went there in an unmarked car, with Jack in the front seat with the driver. No one saw them go in through the back door, and they were left alone by the public for the evening.

"What a pleasant evening," Andromeda said, looking through the window at the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. It was a rather good day for the old woman, and she had slept the whole afternoon to be strong enough to come with her granddaughters.

"I can't believe this is the last evening in Angeles," Millie said. "I hope I'll be able to come back to see you guys."

"I'm sure Kamran and you will travel the world," Andromeda said softly.  
Eliza had already chosen the menu beforehand so they wouldn't get home too late with their grandmother. So the first course arrived pretty quickly. Andromeda picked at her food since eating had become a tiresome activity for her.

"So," Millie said to her sister. "The wedding is in three days. Have you chosen your One? I told you you couldn't come with three guys."

"Oh, yes, please do tell," Andromeda said. "I need to know."

Eliza's heart was pained. She knew she really had to make her choice, and fast.

But after spending some time on a date with Alek, Lat, and Cian – all four had prepared something nice in the past few days, she was still debating. She hesitated. She couldn't decide. Ugh. That was the worst part of the selection. It's easy to eliminate then when you don't really know them. But now? It was awful.

"Uhm," she started.

"Please tell me it's Raphael," Millie said.

Andromeda chuckled softly, but it ended in a coughing fit. "I have my money on someone else," she said when she had recovered. "Practically from the beginning." She smirked and then tried to sip some water.

Eliza chuckled and shook her head. "Who is it, grandmother?" She asked.

"I don't want you to be biased if I tell you. I'll let you know once I know who you choose."

"That's the thing. I don't know."

Millie rolled her eyes. "What did I tell you? _Eenie meenie minie moe_."

The queen mother laughed softly. "That's not how love works, darling. You need to let your heart decide."

"And how do you do that?" Eliza asked, hoping for one last pearl of wisdom from her grandmother.

"Well, who is the last person on your mind when you go to sleep? Who comes in your thoughts when you let them wander?" She paused, letting Eliza think about that. "And don't choose someone to grow old with. Choose someone to stay young with." Again, she paused. She could see Eliza's mind working hard. She wished she would rather be choosing with her heart and not her mind. "And lastly, since you are going to be the queen of Illéa, with the weight of a country on your shoulders, choose someone who will help you carry it."

Eliza was staring at nothing in particular out the window. Out of all the questions Andromeda had asked, she had two answers. So, not helping. Well, a little.

She nodded. "Thanks. I'll think about that. But tonight," she said lifting her glass of wine, we are here for Millie. To say goodbye to her childhood. Right?"

Millie raised her glass. "Only if you promise me to choose by Saturday."

"I promise."

They toasted in Millie's honor and continued with the meal. Around dessert, Andromeda gave Millie and Eliza a present.

"What's this?" Millie asked.

" _Something borrowed, something old, something new, and something blue_." She recited. "For both your weddings.

Millie and Eliza exchanged a glance and then opened their gifts at the same time. It was a little box filled with four objects.

The first one was a tiny white frame with a picture of both grandparents, Andromeda and her late husband. "Something old, to put it in your bouquet so we will both be walking with you down the aisle," the queen mother said.

The second one was a pair of diamond earrings for Millie and pearl ones for Eliza.

"These are the borrowed objects," she said. "They'll go back into the royal jewelry coffers after your wedding."

The third object was a lace garter to wear under the dress. "Something new." She winked at them.

And lastly, the 'something blue' object was a blue handkerchief with their initials on it to wear on their wedding to dry the happy tears.

Millie quickly sobered up after seeing everything that was in the box. She had just realized that her grandmother was too weak to travel. Eliza, too, was a bit choked up. Her grandmother was truly the best person on the entire planet.

Andromeda was tiring quickly and they headed home. Both sisters helped their grandmother to her room where her lady's maid would help her get ready for bed.

Millie and Eliza walked away slowly. Both silent. It had been a bittersweet evening, knowing that it would probably be the last one before Andromeda passed away.

When Eliza was going to turn down the hall to go to her room, Millie stopped her with a hand in her arm.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "For everything. I was an asshole during the whole Selection."

Eliza snorted. "Yeah, you kinda were."

Millie nodded. She deserved that. "Will you forgive me?"

Eliza smiled. "Why do you think I accepted to be your maid of honor? And yeah, you

didn't have anyone else to ask."

Millie half laughed half sobbed. "Sorry, I just—this evening made me all emotional."

"Me too," Eliza said. "Come here." Eliza opened her arms and both sisters hugged. Probably the first real hug in years.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

All six boys knew Millie and Kamran's wedding was coming up in just a couple of days, and that Eliza would be going only with one of them, her final choice. Eliza had never said anything about it, but rumors ran through the Palace. Probably Millie's job. So, all of them wanted one last moment with her before she made her choice. It was the moment to really step up their game.

On Thursday, early in the morning, there was a knock on her door. Eliza didn't really register the noise at first, thinking it was part of her dream, but when it came again louder, she woke up fully with a start. She waited for another knock, in case she had dreamt the whole thing, and it came a few seconds later.

She slipped out of her covers and walked to her door, yawning. Who could be disturbing her sleep in the middle of the night? Well, maybe not the middle of the night, but it was still dark outside.

She slowly opened the door and was surprised to see Seb standing outside with a big grin on his face.

"Hi, good morning," he said. "Sorry to wake you up, but the sky is clear of clouds, and I wanted to go see the sunrise. Would you like to come with me?" All that was said in one single breath.

Eliza rubbed her eyes. "Uhm, yeah sure," she said, yawning. "Just give me a minute to get dressed."

He nodded. "I'll wait for you in the entrance hall."

"Wait, does Jack know about this?" she asked, frowning.

"Uh, no." He paused. "I don't really want a third wheel, to be honest…"

"Wake him up. He's coming with us," she ordered. She didn't want to make the same mistake twice. She knew how important it was to have Jack around. She had ditched Linus a few times, but it wasn't the best idea in the world.

"Fine," he said.

She thanked him and closed the door. She yawned again and went to her walk-in closet to find a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and a pair of sneakers. She splashed some cold water on her face to wake up. As much as she liked spending time with these guys, she couldn't wait for her selection to be over so she could go back to a normal life. And only date one guy.

She left her room and arrived at the same time as Jack in the entrance hall, who was also yawning.

"I'd like to be notified sooner, next time," he said, pulling on his jacket.

"Yeah, sorry," Seb said. "I didn't know we _had_ to take you with us."

Jack looked from Seb to Eliza and nodded at the Princess. It was his job, after all, to make sure nothing happened to her.

The trio climbed in the unmarked car, with Jack at the back, and Seb turned on some soft music. The sky was still dark, but it was slowly becoming clearer to the East. They drove for twenty minutes to a close viewpoint above Los Angeles and got out of the car. Seb took out two thermos mugs and handed one to Eliza.

"Sorry, I didn't know you would be coming, I don't have a third one," he said to Jack, who shrugged and stepped away from the car, giving the couple some privacy.

Seb climbed on the hood of the car and helped Eliza on it. He gave her the coffee thermos and they wrapped themselves in one big blanket, their gaze on the eastern horizon, where the sun would be showing itself fifteen minutes later. They were silent, listening as the birds gently woke up the neighboring nature with their songs. They drank their coffee in silence and watched as the sun came up and the sky became clearer. The stars seemed to turn off one after the other, welcoming the day, but Eliza kept yawning and yawning.

In the background, Jack thought it was funny. He yawned too, and he couldn't wait for the Selection to be over. He admired the previous bodyguard for doing the first part of the Selection. It was a lot of work. And he hated being woken up in the _middle of the night_. Well, no, that's not true. He didn't mind if he was notified the night before. So he could prepare himself to an early rise. That was the thing he hated most during his years in the army: having to wake up at a moment's notice at any hour of the night.

But damn that Seb guy, because Jack had his money on the lieutenant. If only he could help out a bit… but no. This was not his game. He would let the Princess make her choice on her own. His mother was a known matchmaker, back in Midston, and he hated it. He would not become like her.

"So," Seb said. "Millie's wedding is coming up."

"Yup," she replied, sipping her hot coffee. "It's either going to be epic, or awkward."

Sebastian chuckled. "I would so like to see that," he said.

Eliza chuckled. "Yeah. Well, I'm sure it'll make the front page of every newspaper in the world. _Illéa making a marriage alliance with Iran and actually going through with it_ ," she quoted, imagining a title.

"And you're going to have a front seat."

"Mh-hm," she nodded. "That I will. Double front seat, since I'm the maid of honor, _and_ sister of the bride."

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that," he said. "But I thought you two had some… differences… these past few weeks?"

The redhead shrugged. "We did. But my grandmother made us both sit down like children and kind of talk things through." She paused. "I'm glad she did, though. I missed my little sister, you know?"

"Yeah, I totally get that. My brother and I are inseparable." He chuckled. "I think I haven't spent more than three days here without talking to him."

"Really? That bad huh?" she chuckled softly and drained the last of her coffee. _Too attached to his family_ , she thought, completing her mental list of pros and cons on each Elite. Just to not feel too guilty about eliminating five of them in the end. She needed facts.

They continued talking about this and that, but eventually, it was time to go back. They hadn't taken any breakfast with them, and they were both hungry. So was Jack, and he didn't have any coffee.

By the time they arrived at the Palace, Seb had a bad feeling. Ever since he had mentioned that the Selection was a game, she had put some distance between them. And she had probably accepted to come with him that morning to be polite.

He and Eliza went to the buffet and joined the others after filling their plates. She was surprised to see the boys separated in two small groups around the large round table, so much so that there were two empty spots to separate them.

Tomlin, Latreall and Cian on one side, and Alek, Seb, and Raphael on the other. She looked at the two groups and slowly it hit her. Two front runners, and their supporters. She sat in between the two groups but didn't mention anything about it. She ate between yawns – she really needed to take a nap in the afternoon – and as soon as she had finished she headed to her office.

She wrote down her mental list, completing the one on paper she had started. She also went through the political pros and cons list just to make sure. In the top left drawer of her desk, a leather-bound journal was burning a hole in the wood. She knew deep down that she had already made her choice.

The question, now, was how to tell him? And the others? She knew a few of them would be very disappointed. She just hoped it wouldn't turn out to be some drama circus when she would announce to them who her choice was. And she also knew she had to tell her grandmother as soon as possible. She closed her files, kept the journal locked in her desk, and headed to her grandmother's room.

She knocked and walked in when the Queen Mother's lady's maid opened the door for the princess. She saw Andromeda sitting by the window, all wrapped up in a blanket. and eating – or at least trying to – her breakfast.

"Darling," she said. "What a pleasant surprise, do come in."

Eliza obeyed and walked over. She placed a light kiss on her grandmother's brow and sat across from her, in a chair the maid had brought for her.

"I made my choice," she finally blurted out.

"Oh, thank God," Andromeda said. "Who is it?"

Eliza saw the maid hovering close, waiting for Palace gossip, so she leaned towards her grandmother and whispered his name in her ear.

Andromeda smiled. "I am so happy for you, my dear," she said. Then she started coughing and the fit went on for a couple of minutes. She soaked her handkerchief in blood, and Eliza's heart broke. She wanted to do something to help her, but she had no idea what. Once she was done coughing, her maid gave her a glass of water to rinse her mouth and spit it out in another bowl, which the maid took away right away.

Andromeda smiled at her granddaughter. "I wish you all the happiness in the world, darling." She paused, breathing heavily. "Who else knows?"

"No one. I'm planning to ask him later tonight."

Andromeda took her granddaughter's hand in hers, and she searched the bottle-green eyes she knew so well. "I know he will say yes." She paused. "He was always my favorite," she added with a wink. "You two will make a lovely couple."

Eliza grinned. She knew that for a fact, too. She stayed a few more minutes with her and then left to get ready for her proposal and for the departure the next day. There wasn't much to do in that department since Samantha was packing everything for her, but she still had the other thing to prepare. She headed to her room and to her walk-in closet to choose a nice outfit. She knew he wouldn't really care what she wore, but still. She wanted to feel pretty for this.

Also, it had never really dawned on her until now that she would never have a guy pop the question to her. She would have to do it.

Damn fairytale expectations.

* * *

 _ **wohooo sorry it took so long... my life is so busy right now, I can barely sit down to write. I wrote half this chapter** (and all of the previous one) **on my phone on the train... lmao...**_

 _ **so... only 2 chapters left. Who will Eliza choose?**_

 _ **and I PROMISE I will have the Magazine out before chap 60** (which will be the epilogue) **...** (still waiting for JERICHO's interview...)_

 _ **see you soon in chapter 3 of GMSS with the next three OC introductions^^**_


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

Just before dinner, when Raphael came back to his room from his afternoon walk in the garden to change, hoping that Eliza would love him back the way he did, he was surprised to find his leather-bound journal waiting for him on his bed. With a note.

He froze in the doorframe and just stared at it, willing it to disappear, hoping it was just a trick of the light. Because if the journal was there in his room, on his bed, it meant only one thing.

He took a deep, shaky, breath and took a step towards it. And another. And another. Until he was standing by his bed, at arm's reach of his book.

He didn't touch the journal when he took the envelope with two trembling fingers.  
Damn his emotions. What about his military training? He steeled himself and ripped opened the white thick papered envelope. In it was a single paper. With a single line.

 _I'm sorry. Eliza_

Wait, that's it? No explanation? He read and reread the single line written in the most beautiful penmanship he had ever seen. But why? What had he done wrong? He had bared his soul to her. He had exposed his raw self to her.

He took the journal and sat on the bed. Under it was the green watch he had given to her for her birthday. Clearly, she didn't want any reminder of him.

The book seemed to burn his hands as he leafed through the pages but found it unchanged. Had she really read it? Or had she just returned it without touching it?  
No. He had to believe she had read it. He had to. There was something in there she hadn't liked to choose another. Or maybe was it something he did? Damn it. He thought the flight was going to be the thing to tip the scales. It was epic.

He took a deep breath and let it out very slowly, counting to twenty as he did so. Without a word, he headed outside, in the hall, and made his way to the third floor. He had to ask her for an explanation, just so he could understand.

But as he turned the corner at the top of the stairs, he saw her. She was dressed in a simple outfit – not at all suited for dinner – and heading his way.

Where was she going if not to dinner? Surely, she wouldn't go dressed like this. She was always wearing a gown for dinner. But he had to know. He stepped on the last step and just barely avoided bumping into her.

"Oh, hi Raph," she said awkwardly.

He forced a smile. "I found the notebook."

She didn't reply. She was the princess, after all. She didn't need to justify her actions, did she?

"Why?" he asked so softly she almost missed his question.

Her shoulders slumped. This was really not what she needed right now. She was on her way to her proposal. Damn it.

"I'll explain to you tomorrow," she said. "I promise. But I need to go now, I'm sorry." She walked past him and went down the stairs. Raphael watched as she walked away – almost ran away – from him. He went back to his room to change and go to dinner. He tried to do as if nothing had happened. But when he arrived in the dining room, only four of the Elite were there. One was missing. And it was _him_.

Again, Raphael took a deep breath and let it go. Useless to say that he barely touched his food.

 **-x-x-x-**

 _Meet me in the treehouse for dinner. E._

That was all was written on the note. He waited impatiently and paced his room back in forth. Half an hour before dinner time, he put on the outfit he had chosen – a simple pair of jeans, a shirt, and a blazer – and made sure his hair was not out-of-bed-messy by combing his fingers through it. He also put the little black box he had his brother sent him from home a week ago in his pocket. Just in case.

Only eight minutes had passed. Twenty-two minutes left to wait.

He was nervous, but also excited. His hands were sticky and he kept drying them on his pants. Ten minutes before dinner, he popped a mint into his mouth, just for good measure.  
Then it was finally time. He took a deep breath and realized he couldn't break the grin on his face. He tried making a serious face but he just couldn't. He hoped he wouldn't meet anyone on his way to the treehouse. But then again, they were probably all in the dining room by now.

He walked out of his room and practically skipped to the back door leading to the garden. Thank God he saw no one and no one saw him. He hoped. This felt so secretive, but it was fun.

Then he saw the treehouse. The windows up there were all lit up and he grinned. He had built this treehouse with his bare hands, and he was so happy to see it in use.  
He hadn't realized he had stopped in his tracks to just watch the house when a redhead princess in a cute white and grey outfit came out of the door and stood at the top of the spiraling stairs.

"What are you waiting for, Tom?" she asked.

He grinned. " _Oh, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, will you let your hair down for me_?" he called back to her.

Eliza burst out laughing and took some pins out of her hair to let it down. It only went to her shoulder blades. "It's not long enough, but you can take the stairs," she said with a smirk.

Tomlin didn't have to be asked twice. He went up the stairs in a flash and took Eliza in his arms as soon as he was level with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they stared at each other's eyes for a handful of seconds before Tom leaned in and kissed her, not being able to wait any longer.

She giggled under his lips, which made him laugh, too.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

"Yeah a little," he replied. But in truth, he was hungry for her. Not really for food. He doubted he could eat anything soon, anyway.

She took his hand and guided him inside _their_ treehouse, where a small table for two was set. It was a coffee table and they would sit on big cushions on the floor.

"Wow, you did all that?" He asked.

"Yup." She chuckled. "I don't think I ever organized a single date during the whole Selection, so I thought I would at least do one." She paused and sat on a cushion. "Sit down," she said softly, and Tom obeyed with a smile he couldn't shake from his face.

Eliza uncovered the platter in the middle of the table and revealed various finger foods.

"Sorry, it's a simple meal. I didn't want footmen coming up here and disturbing us."

"This is perfect, love," he said. Somehow, he couldn't keep his eyes off her.

Tom served the wine and they started eating the canapés and amuse-bouche in front of them.

"Tom, I need to ask you something. But before you reply, I need you to really think about it, okay?"

"Okay," he said, nodded and wiping his fingers on his napkin.

Eliza breathed in an let it out quickly. "I've thought about it long and hard, and I realized I had fallen in love with you for a long time. I just didn't want to admit it to myself because this was a Selection and I wanted to give everyone the same chance." She paused and looked him in the eyes. "I love you, Tom. Will you marry me?"

Tom was about to reply when she put her hand up to stop him.

"Before you answer, you need to know what this implies." She paused and he waited, even though he already knew his answer, anyway. Whatever the price. "I will be the queen of Illéa at some point. That means I'll have to carry the weight of the country on my shoulders. Will you help me carry it?"

"Yes."

"If we have a family one day, I may not have as much time with you or our children because of my job. Will you still stand by my side, then?"

"Yes," he said again.

"Also, I don't want to grow old with you. I want to stay young with you. Do you think that's something you can do?"

"God, yes," he said. "Will you marry me, Eliza?" he asked.

She chuckled awkwardly. "I'm supposed to ask you the question, Tom."

"You already did," he said smiling. He put the small black box on the table and opened it.

Eliza gasped. "Oh my God. It's beautiful..." She whispered in awe. In the box was a white gold ring with a large greenish pearl in the center, surrounded by two small diamonds. "Yes, Tom. Will you?"

"A million times yes," he said, walking around the table and sitting down next to her. He slipped the ring on her right ring finger and kissed her. From that moment on, the food was forgotten, and the table pushed to the side of the cabin. They needed space among the pillows...

 **-x-x-x-**

The next morning, after spending the evening and a big part of the night with Tomlin, Eliza asked all the boys to meet her after breakfast in the men's parlor. She would be leaving for the Iranian Empire just after, with Tom.

All six boys were there, and practically all noticed her huge engagement ring on her hand.

Who was the lucky guy, they wondered? A quick glance at Tom and Raph gave them their answer right away.

"First of all, I want to thank you all for participating in this Selection. It was weird and awkward at times, sad and tense at others, but fun and great most of the time. Thank you for your patience." She paused and fiddled absentmindedly with her new ring. "I'm very happy to announce that Tomlin will be the next Prince of Illéa, and prince consort when I step up and sit on my father's throne." She paused again and met Tomlin's eye. He was grinning and looking back at her from the back row.

"We will all be parting ways today since Tom and I are flying to Iran to be in time for Millie's wedding."

The goodbyes that ensued were heartbreaking. The departing boys tried to keep it under control, at least in front of everyone. Cian and Latreall were clearly expecting it, but still. Seb knew his bad feeling of the previous day was founded; and Alek? Well, he had still hoped until the end, even if he knew deep down that his chances were slim, giving who were the front runners.

One by one they said goodbye to Eliza and Tomlin – congratulating him on his big win – and left to pack their bags. The second Illéan royal jet would be flying them back to Europe once the royal family was well on their way to Iran.

Raphael was the last to leave the room. He didn't want to say goodbye just then. Tomlin gave them some privacy and went to pack his own things, with his valet's help.

"Why?" Raphael said again. "You said you'd explain today."

Eliza nodded. "And I will. Look, I really liked you and I loved spending time with you. But reading your journal was just too much. Knowing everything you ever thought during the Selection was unnerving, and I saw things maybe I didn't want to see. I don't know." She paused, searching for the right words. "I really hope you find love again. I really do." She squeezed his arm and placed a light kiss on his cheek, needing to stand on the tip of her toes to do so. "Goodbye, Raphael. Take care of yourself."

That said, she quickly walked away and headed to her room where, thank God, she was alone. Her bags were already packed and on their way to the airport.

 **-x-x-x-**

"I can't believe it's finally over," Eliza said, breathing out and being suddenly exhausted. She closed her eyes and relaxed in the comfortable jet seat.

Tomlin was looking at her with a wide grin. "Same. It was one hell of an adventure, right?"

"Oh yeah. You can say that again."

Tomlin entwined his fingers with hers and they just sat there, in silence, breathing freely without the pressure of the Selection on their shoulders. But Tom knew the big deal he had stepped into. Marrying the heir of a large kingdom was not an easy task, and he knew there would be moments harder than others. At least, for now, they would be enjoying a wedding, food, music, and he would dance with her all night. That was his next short term goal.

Several hours later, they landed in Iran where a whole group of journalists and photographers was waiting for them. Princess Emilia might have tipped them off that her sister would be coming with her final choice of her Selection. And so, newspapers from all over the world had sent their journalists to wait for them. It was a race to see who would have it on paper or on the web first. But Eliza didn't care. Soon enough, she wouldn't be the center of attention anymore. Millie and Kamran would be, and she couldn't wait to step out if the spotlight again.

Tom and Eliza followed Oliver and Elinor to the Royal Hotel of Tehran and went in their respective rooms. Tom and Eliza weren't sharing a room – since it wasn't acceptable to share a bed before the wedding in Iran – but they were neighbors, with a communicating door.

Samantha was already there and had prepared Eliza's outfit for the wedding. Her maid of honor dress was an olive green matching her eyes, with a high collar and three-quarter sleeves. It fitted her to her waist and then spread out around her like a waterfall. Sam pinned her hair in an intricate updo with pearls strewn in it, and then she was ready.

Tomlin was waiting for her outside, in the hall, wearing a fancy three-piece coal grey suit with a matching green bowtie. When he saw her, his jaw dropped.

"Wow," he said. "I mean, I saw you in beautiful gowns before, but this is... Wow." He couldn't find the appropriate words to describe how divine she was. Especially now that she was _soon to be_ his _wife_...

"Thanks," she simply said. "You look pretty wow yourself." She chuckled and placed a light kiss on his lips. He held her against him for a few more seconds, making the kiss last a tiny bit longer.

"We really have to go," she said when he broke the kiss. "We can't be late today."

"You're right, sorry." He straightened up and Eliza made sure his bowtie was not tilting to the side and they headed outside, where a car was waiting for them, among a group of journalists, again.

Tomlin hated paparazzi with a personal grudge and he made sure Eliza was never in a position to be well photographed until they were in the blackened windowed car.

"Pfiou," she said. "I forgot how paparazzi are so annoying."

"Tell me about it," he said rolling his eyes. "They've always made my life hell on Earth."

"Well, I think that was the last of them," she said turning around to see them disappear around the bend of the road. "The wedding should be secured."

"I hope so," Tomlin said. "Can I kiss you properly, now?"

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "No. You'll ruin my make-up. At least wait until after the ceremony and the pictures."

Tomlin pouted playfully. "Okay fine."

Half an hour later, they arrived at the place of the wedding, and they both got out of the car. There were no journalists.

"I'll see you later," she said. "We walk inside together. But I have to go see Millie, and you can't come. Women only."

He nodded and quickly placed a kiss on her cheek. "Okay, see you later, love." Just then, Arash came out and he and Tom had lots of catching up to do.

Eliza headed inside, where Millie was being pampered in her ginormous wedding dress. She had a plain chignon because she was going to be wearing a hijab-veil.

"Eliza! You're here, finally! I thought you'd never come."

"Of course, I came, silly. I would never miss my sister's wedding."

"Who's your cavalier?" Millie asked, her curiosity gnawing at her since she left Illéa.

"Tom."

"Damnit," she said. "Sorry," she added to the Muslim maids getting the bride ready. "I really wanted it to be Raphael."

"I know," Eliza said. "But I love Tom. Now let's talk about you, okay?"

Millie couldn't be happier about that since she loved being the center of attention.

A couple of minutes later, the florist arrived, delivering the bridal bouquet, and Eliza's smaller one, too. She had already delivered the boutonnieres to the men – for Kamran, the Emperor, Arash, Tomlin, and Oliver – and now was coming to the ladies. She also gave Eliza a couple of flowers to add to her hairdo, and twenty minutes later, both sisters were ready.

"You look stunning, Millie," Eliza said. "Can we just take a picture for grandmother?"

"Yes, definitely."

They posed and one of the maids took the picture. Eliza quickly sent it to Henri, who had stayed in Illéa to oversee the guys' departure, so he could show it to the queen mother.

Ten minutes later – yes, the wedding was precisely timed to the minute – they were outside the mosque and waiting. Tomlin met with Eliza and grinned again when he saw her. He couldn't seem to do anything else, these days...

One after the other they walked in and an hour later, the ceremony was over. A gigantic buffet was waiting for them and they ate and danced for three days, as was the custom. Tomlin and Eliza never danced with anyone else, and they couldn't wait for their own wedding, in the near future.

He was the happiest man on Earth, and he was happy to say so to everyone he saw.

~.~ THE END ~.~

* * *

 _ **Yup, this is it... this is how** The Wold Is Watching **ends... Congrats Gummy for your amazing Tom who wins hte heart of the Princess! ALSO, go check the Aesthetic Section for this chapter... :eyes:**_

 _ **Thanks,** Rysa **,** Oz **,** Crunch **,** Sabine **,** Gummy **, and** ChillyIce **for your OCs, it was awesome writing them!** (if you want to write a One-Shot to conclude their story, you can! and we can post it in the Companions^^)_

 _ **It's almost over, but not quite... because there will be an epilogue in a few weeks... so stay tuned until October 10th 2019, when it will be posted** (there will be an explanation in that chapter's AN as to why this date, and no, it won't be the first anniversary of the story, which is Oct 22)._

 _ **It took me 2h hours to write this chapter today, and I wrote it on my phone... on the train. Again.**_

 _ **Thank you all for your amazing OC's, this story could have never happened without you, and I have never written a story this long, and with so many reviews! 600+ is amazing, and that's thanks to you all!**_

 _ **I can't wait to dive headfirst into GMSS** (now I can fully concentrate on it) **!**_


	60. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 _8 years later…_

"Hello, grandmother," Eliza said softly in the cemetery, her words flying in the light autumn breeze. "It's been a while, huh?" She tried to smile, but it was a little wobbly. She hadn't spoken with the old woman in years. She hadn't had the time to swing by the royal cemetery.

The Heir to the throne stood silently in front of the perfectly well-kept tomb. How do you catch up on eight years?

"The Mongasian War is finally over," she said, "after almost nine years of conflict. New Asia annexed the Mongolian Empire, and now they kind of do their own thing. It's going to take years before they are a united front, but at least, the conflict is over. They swallowed a lot of kingdoms with them, and many lives were lost in the process."

She paused and tucked a red strand of hair behind her ear. The wind was slowly becoming stronger. There would soon be a storm over Los Angeles.

"Dad didn't step down," she said. "He didn't want to give me Illéa until the war was over. But now? The crowning ceremony is tomorrow." She paused. "I feel like I'm ready, but I'm so nervous at the same time..." She gently put a hand on her protruding belly. She was six-month months pregnant with their third child.

"You're going to do just fine," her husband said, lovingly wrapping an arm around her thick waist. He placed a kiss on her brow.

"Tom," she said also wrapping an arm around him. "How long have you been here?"

He grinned "I heard you talk about your dad." He turned towards the tomb. "Don't worry, your Majesty," he said to Andromeda. "She's doing an awesome job, and I'm right by her side all the way."

Silence surrounded them and she leaned her head on his shoulder. They just stood there, motionless, for some time.

The wind was getting chillier by the minute and Eliza shuddered in her husband's arms.

"Come on, let's go back inside," he said. "And let's enjoy your last evening as Princess of Illéa."

Eliza rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Nothing's going to change, Tom. I'm still going to be attending endless meetings, reading and signing countless papers, and going to international summits and doing conference calls." She paused. "Dad made sure that I would be ready to do this on my own. He's just not going to be here anymore."

Tomlin frowned. "But he's still going to be around, right?"

Eliza shook her head. "With Mom gone, he doesn't want to stay around and see her in every memory, you know? It was a big enough scandal when she left with you-know-who..." They never said his name, but the Lieutenant-General, Samuel Murray had been discharged from the army when it was discovered he had an affair with the Queen, and the Crown was taken from her.

Tomlin nodded. "Yeah, I understand."

They walked hand in hand back to the Palace, where a little girl was waiting for them, sitting on the stairs, outside.

"Gracie!" Eliza said, calling out to her daughter. "What are you doing outside? It's getting cold!"

The four-year-old princess with the brown locks wobbled down the stairs and ended in her father's arms. "Guess who just arrived!" She said with a big toothy grin on her freckled face.

"Santa?" Tomlin asked.

"No!" The little girl said giggling.

"Aunt Millie and uncle Kamran?" Eliza asked, more seriously.

"Yeah, but that was not who I meant," Grace said.

"Grannie and Grand-papa from New England?" Tomlin asked, and their daughter nodded vigorously. "Well, let's go meet Mom and Dad, then," he said.

Inside, in the music room, the whole English congregation was there, sipping tea, because it was tea time, along the Iranian-Illéan couple and their two boys, with Oliver.

"Ah, there she is!" Millie said, standing to greet and hug her sister. "I've missed you. How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," Eliza said regarding the coronation, "and tired," she added talking about her pregnancy.

Millie offered her a tight squeeze of the arm and Eliza and Tomlin greeted everyone in the room. Their oldest six-year-old son, Eric, had been entertaining the guests until his parents arrived. Now that they were here, he and his cousins from Iran and England ran away to their own playrooms. Making conversation with adults was boring.

After catching up with everyone as best they could for the next couple of hours, they all retired to their rooms to change for dinner, where a gigantic table had been brought in to accommodate everyone. The kids had their own table at one end of the room, under the supervision of two royal nannies.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

The next morning, Eliza couldn't sleep very late. For one, she was anxious. Not of the ceremony in itself, but of what lay ahead. And second, baby number three was kicking like a demon in her womb. After their daughter, she had said she didn't want any more kids. The pregnancy had been really hard and painful, and they almost lost the baby when she was born.

But fate wanted it differently and they were having a third child.

She got out of bed as silently as she could so as not to wake up her husband who was sleeping peacefully – how lucky he was – and went to the adjacent room to lay down on the couch. She picked up the book she had been reading for the past year – finding time to read was hard – and dived right into it. It was the last book in the _Tales Untold_ series, written by none other than Adriel L'Alfayage himself, or also know to Eliza as Prince Harihuto of Mikasa, in exile somewhere in the world.

"Why are you up so early, love?" Tomlin asked, shuffling his loafers and rubbing his eyes.

"Go back to bed, honey," she said. "I can't sleep."

"Yeah, well, neither can I when you're not next to me."

Eliza chuckled. "Then come here." She scooted forward on the couch so he could sit behind her and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her belly.

"He's moving," he said in wonder.

"Yes, I know. That's why I can't sleep, thank you very much," Eliza replied. "Also, _he_ could also be a _she_."

Tomlin chuckled deeply with his morning voice and kissed her cheek from behind. "I know. but I don't like saying _it_."

They were silent, leaving the early palace noises to fill the silence. Eliza read on, and Tomlin dozed on and off behind her.

Then, out of a sudden, it was breakfast, then visiting with the guests, revising the oath, getting ready, and going to the cathedral.

It all happened as if it was behind glass. Eliza knew it was her saying the words, promising to be a faithful Queen and to lead Illéa as best she could, but she felt like she was floating above it all, and watching from above. Then the ceremony was over, they drove back home, and the banquet that followed was huge. Guests and family were here, and that was it.

Eliza was no more the Princess if Illéa. She was Her Majesty the Queen of Illéa, and the most powerful person in Illéa. The only thing was that she didn't feel any different.

 ** _-x-x-x-_**

Eric knew he was the crown prince of Illéa. But he didn't care about that. At six years old he had other priorities. Like dodging his tutors and hiding in improbable places around the Palace. It was his favorite game until his father found him and told him what he thought about it. Then Eric would go back to the classroom and sit for the rest of the day in a very bad mood.

"Shouldn't we put him in a normal school? With other kids?" Tom asked Eliza one day.

"Yes, at some point he will," Eliza said. "But not just yet. He's six, Tom."

"So? Isn't it now that he needs some friends his age? He sees his cousins twice a year. At the best."

Eliza sighed. "Look. Normal school will wait. But we can maybe put him in some other things with other kids? I don't know, like soccer or whatever? Something he would like to do?"

Tomlin chuckled. "Something to channel his energy, then."

"Yes, exactly."

The royal couple exchanged a smile. Whatever their differences in opinions, they managed to find common ground. Most of the time...

After several years of playing a game of _hide and seek_ with his dad, his tutors, and the palace staff, Eric had become really good at it. He was now thirteen years old and knew practically every nook and cranny of the Palace.

Except for this one. He had never come to the attic of the Palace. A room filled with dust, spiderwebs, old wooden trunks, and picture frames with old family paintings. Walking slowly on the creaking wooden floor, he was making footprints in the dust.

And seeing the large black spiders in some of the webs he knew instantly why he had never come here before. But then again, if this place looked so abandoned and forgotten, maybe no one would find him and he'd have some free time away from diplomacy classes? Ugh. _Bo-ring_...

He avoided the web-filled corners and walked slowly around the room, taking in the objects there. He even saw a painting of his great-grandmother, the queen mother Andromeda. He smiled. There were other pictures of her around the Palace but this one was different. She wasn't quite looking at you, like in most royal portraits. It seemed like she was smiling at something just out of view. Her husband, maybe? A grandchild? Eric decided he liked that painting and would take it downstairs to his room if no one wanted it.

Next to it was a wooden trunk that didn't seem as old as the others around the room. He lifted the latch – it wasn't locked – and lifted the cover. On the top was a silk piece of fabric protecting what was underneath. One after the other, he took out the objects.

A blue dress; a pair of ice skates; a yellow Polaroid camera; a sword in its sheath – there was something written on the hilt of the blade, but it seemed to be in Swedish, and since he had dodged his classes on Swendway history and language, he couldn't read it – which he tried swinging around but it was too heavy, probably his dad's; there was also some exotic jewelry that looked Indian; a plush tiger cub; and many other things. To poor Eric, these objects had nothing in common besides being carefully put away in that particular trunk.

At the bottom of it all was a big large book. A photo album, to be precise. He took it out, sat cross-legged against the trunk, and opened it on his lap. He went through the pages and saw pictures of her mom much younger than now, with lots of different guys. There were no notes. Only Polaroid pictures and some were probably taken with a phone. Slowly, he looked at all the pictures, recognizing some of the men to be royals from other countries, and some he had no idea who they were.

"Eric."

Eric snapped his head up to see his father with a grim expression on his face.  
Tomlin frowned when he saw the familiar objects scattered around his son and the photo album in his lap.

"What do you have there, buddy?" Tomlin asked, sitting next to his son in the dust.

"I don't know," Eric replied. "Maybe you can tell me. You're in lots of pictures." He paused. "Among other guys. Did Mom really date all those guys?"

Tomlin chuckled awkwardly. "Yes and no." He cleared his throat. How do you explain to your thirteen-year-old son the concept of an international and political Selection? "When your mom was younger, there was a tradition. Every generation, the Heir to the throne would hold a Selection to find a husband or a wife among the Illéan people. Only, there was the Mongasian War going on and they were slowly eating up kingdoms from around the world." He paused, but Eric was listening with rapt attention. "Your grandfather thought it would be a good idea to unite the nations by having their young spares compete for your mom's hand in marriage. Alliances were made during that Selection, and well, your mom made her choice with me."

Eric looked at the pictures in his lap. "So all these guys are princes from around the world?"

"Not all of them, because not all countries are kingdoms." He turned some of the pages. "This one is a pastor from Brazil." He turned another page and fell on a picture of Rafe. "This one... He was half a prince. The South African king had an affair."

"Was?" Eric asked. "Not anymore?"

"No. Rafe died during the Selection. But that's another story." He didn't want to tell him about the robot drone attack. Not yet. He turned some other pages. "This one, for example, is a Swiss Air Force lieutenant. But from what I heard last, he's now a Colonel." He chuckled lightly. "He was my biggest rival in the selection."

"You had to fight him?" Eric asked. "With that sword I saw?"

"God, no!" Tomlin said, trying not to laugh. "First, I would probably have lost at swordfight against a soldier. Second, this sword is your mom's. Prince Aleksander of Swendway gave it to her for her birthday. He taught her how to swing a sword. Not me."

Eric was dumbstruck. "Mom can actually swing a sword?"

"Yup."

"Damn."

"Language, Eric."

"Sorry."

Father and son were both silent as they went through the pictures together. Bittersweet for Tomlin, and extraordinary for Eric. All this time he had thought his mom and dad had had an arranged marriage between kingdoms that had turned out for the better. Because they clearly loved each other. But why didn't his history teacher tell him of all this? Maybe because he dodged the classes? No. He would have known…

When the last page was turned, Eric asked: "Will I also have a selection, when I'm older?"

Tomlin didn't reply right away. He and Eliza had never spoken of that eventuality. It was too soon, anyway.

"I don't know, son." He paused. "Only if you want to, I guess."

Eric took a deep breath. At thirteen years old, the weight of the country's future suddenly fell on his shoulders. He would need to find a queen. And if he could choose one instead of being given one through an arranged marriage, then all the better. "Maybe I will," he said.

And from that day on, he never played hide and seek again, or stepped foot in that attic.

* * *

 _ **This time, it's really the end of "The World Is Watching". I can't believe it's been almost a year since the first chapter came out, on Oct 22, 2018.**_

 _ **But today is**_ Oct 10, 2019 _ **, and by this TWIW Epilogue, we are celebrating the Discord Chat's 1st year anniversary! Millyna thought it would be nice to celebrate that 1st year with the end of the story that brought us all together, in the Discord Alliance **(used mainly for the Country Alliances in TWIW, but that I kind of ignored at some point, because the countries' allegiances were not following the alliance... anyway...)_

 _ **Thank you all for following this story, it was the story that took the most energy and emotion to write, and I hope GMSS will be as awesome to write!**_

 _ **Don't forget to check out the Magazine! it's posted on Pinterest, in the art section of the main board! thanks to all who collaborated with me, it was really fun to do this second edition! :D AND the Aesthetics (mostly the kids and some nice pics) on the Aesthetic Board!**_

 _ **This is goodbye for now, but I'll definitely see you again through GMSS for those who are reading and supporting that crazy story!**_


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